The Triumvirate: Centra's Revival
by powerpak
Summary: A Great Evil has arisen, their motives unknown. It is up to Squall and gang to stop them, but help comes in the most unexpectant form, a young boy. This has DOD characters in it, but it is essentially a FF8 fanfic!
1. Revival

**Chapter 1 : Revival**

2 years after the Sorceress War, peace has finally been achieved between the nations, with General Caraway taking over the helm at Galbadia, its military has largely been disbanded, with resources being diverted to rebuilding the city and establishing friendly ties with its neighbours, Dollet and Timber have also reverted to quieter and peaceful cities, former resistance group coming out of hiding to lead with Galbadia loosening its iron grip over them. Esthar, under the leadership of Laguna Loire, has also cleared up much of the damage caused during the Lunar Cry incident, bringing it back to its former glory. As for Garden, it has changed its agenda from being a mercenary task force, to an elite fighting force championed with the job of maintaining world peace and settling disputes and problems happening around the globe, for a fee of course. But it seemed like for once, nothing major was going to happen…

* * *

It was early morning in Balamb Garden, the sky was dimly lit, and the compound was still barren of any students or staff, yet it was common sight to see 2 men already on the tracks doing their daily 10 km run.

'So wads in for us today? Something big? Any bosses worthy of a challenge?' the shorter of the 2 asked. With blond hair and a striking tattoo on the left side of his face, it was hard not to spot him in a crowd. Although he wasn't big and tall, he exuded and aura that made him stand out in a crowd. His upbeat personality coupled by his enthusiasm made him waiting for the next challenge. Zell hadn't changed much after the Sorceress War. To him the whole scenario had been like a big adventure loaded with non-stop action and fun. No doubt he had matured, but the boyishness was still there.

His jogging partner glanced at him for a second, his short brown hair gently swaying in the wind, his handsome features made even more striking in the soft morning light, yet there was no mistaking a scar running between his eyes across his face. Although he looked not any different from 2 years ago, Squall had changed drastically throughout the Sorceress War. Gone was the introverted loner warrior that garden once had, being the leader of a small band of fighters forced to take on the most dangerous sorceress of all time has the ability to do that. Of course there are other reasons to his change. 'Expect nothing more than a T-Rex.'

'WAD! But u promised something big?' There was great displeasure in Zell's voice, his sudden outburst disrupted his rhythmic breathing and he was reduced to coughs.

'So what were u expecting… Isn't a T-Rex big enough?' Squall tried hard not to sound irritated. Zell had always been demanding bigger and meaner monsters in the training area, but it was Squall's duty to ensure that accidents or casualties do not happen regularly. It was always hard trying to talk sense into Zell.

'Are you kidding me? We already have T-Rexes in the training area. I was expecting a Ruby or a Malboro. One of those legendary White dragons would be nice.' Zell grinned at the mention of the last monster.

Squall turned his head, his hazel brown eyes fixed on Zell. There was finality in those eyes as he said 'No, case closed.' He suddenly increased his speed and left Zell behind.

'Hey! You cheater!' It was down to the last 1 km. Rules were loser treats winner to drinks. Zell lost by seconds every time as he always mistimed when to start speeding up. Zell quickly chased after Squall, although it was as good as game over.

* * *

'I'm surprised no one ever found this place.' The little man spoke to himself. He wore a while lab coat and had small round spectacles. There was nothing spectacular about this man; in fact u would pass him of as any other scientist u have met. Yet he carried a certain aura around him that made u feel as though he knew everything, including the thoughts in your head. He walked slowly into the dark cave, all the while being flanked by his two bodyguards. They carried standard rifles fitted with high powered torch lights, wore full body armour and had infra-vision goggles for the cavern was dimly lit, with a few torches hanging by the sides of the walls. Although well armed, there was no denying the fear the soldiers felt as they approached deeper into the cave, for although they couldn't see it, they certainly could feel the darkness wrapping around their hearts, as though a powerful evil force was ripping their souls bit by bit. The little man could sense the fear from his soldiers but it didn't worry him one bit. To him, this was just like home.

As the torches along the walls came to an end, they entered a huge open space. The two soldiers turned on their torches and flashed around the cavern. The cavern was extremely huge, with large statues along its sides, which were embroiled with shiny stones; like an underground temple being built to honour the gods and warriors, it was a magnificent sight to behold. But the little man new better.

Without warning, a thunderous roar rocked the cavern. Alarm washed over the soldiers as they quickly raised their rifles frantically in search of the threat. In a flash, a large creature dropped down from high above, landing in front of the trio. The two soldiers fell to the floor as a mysterious force pushed them down, however the little man remained standing. He lifted his arms signalling his soldiers to put their guns down and walked toward the creature. The creature resembled a tiger, but it was much larger than its normal kin. Its skin was ashen white, and in place of black stripes were glowing reddish stripes that looked as though they were burning. The creature was burning as smoke rose from it, its eyes fiery red while fearsome looking fangs protruded from its mouth.

'HOW DARE YOU ENTER THIS TOMB!' The white creature bellowed. 'PREPARE FOR DEATH!'

As though not hearing the monster speak, the little man walked closer and chuckled 'Has guarding this place for so long rusted your brain till the point of not recognising me?'

As the creature slowly recognised who it was facing, it slowly backed down from its aggressive stance. 'So the time has finally come?' It asked questioningly.

'Yes yes it has, and stop being so dumb Tumbaras, you used to have a quick mind. Now bring me to my brother.' The little man said in a very matter-of-factly tone.

'Yes, my lord.' Upon hearing its name being called after what felt like an eternity, it quickly rose and led the group to the middle of the cavern.

As they reached what seemed to be the middle of the cavern, Tumbaras let out a long growl. As if setting in motion the reawakening process, the eyes of the statues by the side seemed to light up, lighting up the entire cavern. The two soldiers whom by now had regained their composure stared in awe at their current surroundings. The floor was an elaborately carved surface full of markings and symbols, and in the middle was a giant circle with the Roman numeral III written on it. Suddenly it began to turn and circular III began to rise up above the ground. Other such tombs also began to rise from the ground. Loud clanking of gears could be heard while the entire cavern shuddered, small stones falling out of place and sand falling down the seeps.

All this while, the little man laughed softly to himself. Today was a very important day, as it marked a new beginning. He looked at the being that was located inside the tomb with the numerals III on it and smiled. He hadn't seen this face for one too many years. When the tombs all rose above the ground, the little man spoke loudly so that the whole cavern was filled with his voice.

'Arise Centra warriors! Our all-important war has finally resumed!'

'I never really thought I would get out of this tomb Rosencrantz. Let alone continue the war.' The figure stepped out of the centre tomb and faced the little man. He had a round cap with 3 black feathers on it. His attire consisted of dark purple and grey cloth and was dressed in a very royally manner, but yet it was the sinister black metal fan that he carried in his hand that drew all the attention. It bore weird marks and insignia over it and would have been an excellent piece of craftsmanship had it not been a terrible killing device.

'Haha Claudius, when have I ever let you down?'

'How long has it been. 200 years?'

'Much longer. I don't remember myself, but yes it has been a very long time.'

'I didn't really enjoy my sleep in that filthy place.' A female voice caught the attention of both Claudius and Rosencrantz. It was a mesmerizing voice, fitting of the ravishing beauty that stepped forward. She had the figure to charm any man and her long silver hair made her look magical.

'Ah Ophelia, don't complain. Be happy that we have reunited.' Rosencrantz chuckled.

'I guess now that the Triumvirate is reunited, we best make our next move.' Ophelia swept off more dust on her hair.

'But our numbers are few.' Claudius looked at the warriors who were gathering around him. 'Charon, good. Ben and Bill, Munenori, Sakon. That's all I have.'

'Many were lost while protecting this tomb. It wasn't easy my brother.' Rosencrantz looked down. 'I have everything planned. But we have to move fast before the Balance comes into play. If that happens, our task will be much more difficult.'

'What about these followers of yours, they don't look very promising.' Ophelia eyed the 2 soldiers that had followed the scientist into the cave with a look of great disgust.

'Don't bother them; they do have their uses. Come, we have more important things to do.' Rosencrantz gathered the remaining warriors and told them everything.

* * *

Laguna Loire stood facing the glass plane. He was at his presidential office, the large building situated right in the middle of the powerful nation Esthar. He looked down at the government robes that he was wearing and sighed. His adventure outfit was locked in some closet back in his apartment, how he longed for some adventure like the good old days. Being a president of Esthar was never an easy task.

'Good morning Mr President. Here are some of the documents that need signing. General Cromwell reports that the hit and runs carried out by SE against our eastern naval base has increased in frequency. Senator Cespenar also reports that the new Lunar Base is now fully operational and requests more manpower being sent over. Senator Freeman also reports that the economic…'

'Its all right Jaime. I'll run through the files myself later on my com. Thx.' Laguna cut his secretary off. Listening to all these reports gave him headaches, making him wonder at times why he was here. It wasn't because he didn't give a damn about Esthar, in fact he was more patriotic to Esthar than anyone else, it's just that he didn't feel up to the job. Ruling a country just wasn't his cup of tea.

'Oh, one more thing Mr President, Headmaster Cid sent a reminder this morning about the annual Esthar-Garden summit tomorrow. He also… '

Laguna's mind lit up immediately upon hearing Garden. It meant he would be able to reunite with the gang and most importantly, he would be able to see his son, Squall. The Esthar-Garden summit was a meeting where officials from both parties would come together and discuss some of the more pressing security issues. Formed after the Sorceress War, the summit has solved some problems faced by Esthar; most worthy of mention would be solving the monster infestation problem with the Esthar Military brought about by the Lunar Cry. It was beneficial for both parties where Garden earns money through the contract while Esthar gets to solve a national crisis.

'Yes, I will be there. I'll be taking Kiros and Ward along. Maybe a few other senators too.' Laguna interrupted his secretary again. He pitied the poor girl but he just couldn't stand all the extensive details. At least she didn't have a monotonous voice.

'I'll be taking Raine there, help me inform the tech crew to have it prepped for tomorrow. Thx again Jaime.' His secretary nodded and went out his room. Laguna went back to staring out of his office. The view from his office was fabulous; one could see all of Esthar's splendour through here. The futuristic skyscrapers, the high tech vehicles, the people living in harmony, it was the epitome of humanity. Little did Laguna know that a lot of this would change in the near future.


	2. Problems

**Chapter 2 : Problems**

'What do you want? I don't know what you're looking for!' The man backed up against the wall. Crippled with fear, he knew he was going to die next.

There was nothing his guards could do against him. Their bullets seemed to bounce of his armour magically, as if some barrier shielded him. The spear he carried had been deadly, piercing and slashing through the guards as though they were paper, 8 of them all lay dead on the floor, their blood splattered all over his mansion.

'Oh yes u know what we want. The vials, that's what we want. Give them to us and u live.' Claudius walked up towards the man, whom Sakon had his large spear pointed at.

'What vials are you talking about? Who are you people?' He had no idea who these eight crazy people were. But the moment they turned up, he knew what they were looking for. It had been entrusted from generation to generation, to keep the box safe. No one knew what was in the box, but they all swore an oath to keep it secret. The Galbadian Merchant knew that whether or not he told them where it was he was still going to die.

'ARRGH!!!!' The man screamed as Sakon plunged his spear deep into his thigh. Blood poured out from the wound like a burst pipe, but Sakon wasn't done, he twisted the spear back and forth for maximum pain, leaving the man screaming his lungs out.

'Now now, no need to go through all this. Why suffer when all you have to do is surrender the vials?' Claudius bent forward to come face to face with the man.

As the man looked up, he stared right into his face. It was greyish, not a normal colour, but it was his eyes that terrified him. They were so dark that no light seemed to be reflected, two mini black holes sucking in all life around it. He looked to his side, where his wife and daughter were both being guarded by two twins. In his mind, he knew this great evil will soon use his family against him, but he had no choice, they all swore the oath, his family would understand, although it pained him greatly to come to that conclusion.

'Yes Yes! I have found it! Haha, come have a drink everyone.' Rosencrantz stepped out of a room with a wooden box in his hands.

The man was shocked at seeing the box in the enemy's hands. He had placed the box in a safe guaranteed to withstand all kinds of breaking open attempts and only he knew the password to open the safe. Yet, that little man had the box in his hands.

'How did you open the safe?' the man said astonishingly.

'There is nothing that I do not know' Chuckled Rosencrantz.

'I applaud your attempts but as you can see, it is all in vain.' With that Claudius stood up and walked toward Rosencrantz. With his back facing the man, he lifted his hand and flicked open his fan. With another deft flick, he flung the fan. It was a movement of grace, the black fan spun in the air forming a blurry circle, drawing out a beautiful smooth arc in the air. It flew straight for the man and made one round back into the hands of its master. It all happened in a blink of an eye. Death came swiftly for the man for he never felt anything. His head popped loose as blood sprayed from his neck like a fountain.

His wife and daughter screamed and cried at the sight of this, but they were ignored. Claudius looked at the vials that Rosencrantz was handing out and smiled.

'We now have our Guardian Forces back.'

'I left Sakon's GF to guard the tomb, the rest of them were unfortunate to be encapsulated by the Magi. But of course they cannot hide them from me.' Rosencrantz said softly.

'Good good, now we can proceed with our next plan. Ben, Bill, eliminate that noisy nuisance.'

* * *

Having showered and changed into clean clothes, Squall walked out of his room and headed to the second floor of Balamb Garden. A few hours had passed since winning the race between Zell and most of Garden was already up and running. Students walked around the compound, some SeeDs could be seen giving pointers to budding cadets who yearned to one day become SeeDs themselves, instructors training students on new combat moves; it was again another lively day in garden, another routine day for Squall.

'Hey Squall!' Squall turned his head to see Selphie rushing up to greet him, with Irvine following behind her.

Just like Zell, the War didn't change Selphie much. She was still the bubbly and cheerful girl that everyone knew her to be. But only a few could tell that there was some regret deep within her. The many lives lost by Trabia Garden due to the Galbadian missile attack is a scar that was marked deep within Selphie. Although it wasn't her fault to begin with, Selphie had always blamed herself, her inability to do more to protect the people she loved. Squall was one of the few who could tell, although she never told him how she felt, but everything was evident through her eyes.

Of course Irvine knew about it too. Ever since the War, Irvine and Selphie had gotten very close to each other. Everyone knew that they were more than just war buddies, but they denied that there was something going on between them. Irvine himself however changed quite a lot. Before the war, he used to flirt openly, being the ladies man didn't help. Never sticking to the same girl were just some of his mottos that had all been dumped after the War. Although most of that has changed, he was still the same cool guy that the gang once knew, always speaking when needed, and saying the right things at the right time.

'Hey Selphie. Where are you two heading?'

'Irvine and me are going over to the Quad to lie out the stuff nicely for President Laguna's arrival. Tomorrow's quite a big day, so better make sure all the stuff are ready. Can't rely on the juniors not to screw things up.' Selphie did a cheeky wink at Irvine, who smiled back.

'I thought Irvine has other things to tend to? He isn't in the welcoming committee.'

'Awww come on, he's just helping out that's all. No worries Squally, everything will be ok.'

'Alright then, I'll leave things to you two.'

Irvine tipped his hat and the two of them left, with Selphie making a lot more noise as they went down to the Quad. Squall went up the lift, the lift doors slid open and a beautiful woman stood in front of him. With blond hair, frameless glasses, fine features, wearing her full SeeD uniform, she was a sight to behold. Quistis was still the calculative, meticulous planner among them. The student had now become the superior, but Squall still trusted Quistis with his life. He would discuss important matters and seek for her opinions on various issues before coming up with his own judgments. For Quistis, seeing her protégé achieve great heights made her a proud teacher, but they were all overshadowed by the one thing she could never do, the fact that Rinoa had been the one, where she had failed, to break down Squall's protective barrier and open up had made her sore. There even came a point of time when she despised Rinoa for taking Squall away from her. But while going through the War together as a team, she started to accept Rinoa into the group. When the War ended, she accepted the fact that she just wasn't made for Squall, and they weren't meant to be together. It was a hard and painful fact, but she learned to live with it. She always did, and that was what made her the strong and capable woman that she was. Locking her feelings in a corner of her heart, till all that was left was the great friendship that she had with everyone else had been her response. 'Morning Squall, committee has arrived, all 3 headmasters are waiting in the conference room.'

'Will u be there too?'

'Of course. As Vice-Commander, I can't just leave all the decision making to you can I? Too risky I must say.'

'Wadever.' Squall muttered his famous one word answer and walked into the conference room with Quistis.

The room already had several key members in it. Seated at the round table was Headmaster Cid from Balamb Garden, Headmaster Vinche from Galbadia Garden, Headmaster Krall from Trabia Garden, and a young charming girl. Squall greeted the Headmasters and took his seat beside the young girl who had long black hair with a streak of caramel. He looked over and she gave him a wink. Squall smiled. It was a genuine smile, one he reserved especially for this girl, his greatest love, Rinoa.

Squall first met Rinoa at the SeeD graduating ceremony in Balamb Garden. He had just passed the exam and was pulled by this girl to dance with her. Just when he was starting to enjoy it, she left. Only did he know later that he was being contracted to her by Garden to help assist her resistance group gain independence for Timber from the Galbadian Regime. At first he couldn't stand the girl's antics, how she was so unorganised and pampered, wanting to do the impossible, and in other words, pissing him off. But as time passed, he realized that Rinoa just acted like this in front of him, in a way trying to get his attention. He started to be attracted to her kind and warm heart, her genuine feelings. He could feel her love for him, and it was suddenly clear to him, he couldn't live without this girl. Their feelings for one another had started and blossomed during the Sorceress War, what happened after was adding on to the strong feelings they had for one another. Although she was a sorceress and was well capable of heading a Garden division on magic combat training, Squall had left the job to someone else and assigned Rinoa to be his personal secretary. It was the perfect job as they could be together and see each other more often. Rinoa took the job up without any complaints.

Quistis sat down at the last remaining seat. 'Since everyone is here, we can start the meeting.'

'Are all the preparations for tomorrow's summit ready?' Headmaster Cid was clearly concerned about the summit. He was the one who came up with the idea of the summit in the first place and thus saw it as his duty to ensure things remained well for it.

'Everything is going according to plan. Final preparations are underway and on schedule.' Quisits checked her electronic pad to ensure everything was settled.

'If that's settled, maybe we can discuss some of the interesting issues Trabia is facing.' Headmaster Krall spoke up. 'We have confirmed the existence of this creature. After that first sighting, we increased our scouts and their patrol radius, and managed to obtain more images. Some of these are frightfully clear.'

He passed a file around which contained the pictures of the sightings. First viewed by the other two Headmasters, their expression became one of shock. Quistis looked at it once and her mouth opened a little, but she quickly closed it. Apparently she was caught unprepared for the sight she saw. Finally it was passed to Squall. Just like Headmaster Krall had mentioned, the pictures were crystal clear, the creature lay in front of him in its full grandeur. It was a White Dragon. Squall had never encountered one in his life, but there was no doubt about it. The dragon was flying in the picture. It had a dome-shaped head and large wings. From the specs indicated in the picture, the White Dragon was easily 1.5 times larger than a Ruby Dragon. It was a majestic sight to behold. Looking at the picture made him think about the earlier conversation he had with Zell in the morning. 'How coincidental' he thought to himself.

'As u can see,' Headmaster Krall continued, 'these are sightings of a White Dragon. Although thought to be extinct, it appears legend has become reality.'

'Can you confirm the numbers of the dragons?' Quistis enquired.

'No. But I don't suppose that's the only one. My concern is the dragon is very close to Trabia territory. Not only does it pose a danger to the townspeople, it might even pose a threat to Garden.'

'But we have no way of confirming the hostility of this dragon.'

'If the legend is true, these creatures are extremely powerful and dangerous. Garden should send a strike team to Trabia to eliminate this possible threat. If not, I suggest more experienced personnel be stationed at Trabia in case of an eminent attack. Trabia does not have the power to stop this dragon.'

Krall finally hit home on his main point. Squall could see where this was going. He wasn't overly concerned about the dragon, but he wanted more manpower from the other Gardens. Ever since the missile attack two years ago, Trabia Garden had spent much effort on rebuilding. Compared to the other Gardens, it was lagging behind a lot in terms of technology, manpower and capabilities. The SeeDs it trained were of a lower calibre than the other two Gardens. Squall knew that Krall had been doing everything in his power to heighten the status of Trabia Garden and has always been demanding for funds and staff. They had given in to his demands the first few times, but apparently Krall never got satisfied. Quistis had constantly reminded Squall that although they were called Gardens, they functioned individually as a unit, where each Garden managed their own finances and students. In her opinion, Krall was going overboard.

'I understand your concerns Headmaster Krall, but the other Gardens also have pressing issues to attend to. This meeting is to consolidate the problems faced by Garden and come up with an effective strategy to deal with them all. If that's all of your concerns, I suggest we move on to Headmaster Vinche.' Squall spoke for the first time in the meeting. Headmaster Krall lay back into his seat, indicating that he had nothing more to say, but it was evident that he wasn't happy.

'Don't worry about Galbadia, Commander Squall. Things have been pretty quiet over in the Western Continent. Ever since the major crackdown ordered by President Caraway, the Galbadian Government is as clean as it gets. Working with them has made security easy to maintain. Caraway's a great man.' At the mention of her father, Rinoa giggled but quickly covered her mouth when Vinche eyed at her surprisingly as though he said something wrong. 'Well, if there really is something worth mentioning, I guess it would be the report I got in the morning. Heard some rich merchant in Galbadia City got murdered. Whole family and 8 guards killed brutally. House was ransacked and stuff. Whole of Galbadia is pretty shocked and worried as the criminals haven't been caught yet. No info on them yet, but we are working on it. Soon they will all be in prison.'

'It doesn't sound like a normal robbery case. Who ever did this must be a professional, 8 guards killed is rather alarming.' Quistis sounded her suspicions.

'It's nothing of Gardens concern anyway. So Cid, do u have anything to add?'

'Nothing about Balamb, but I have new reports on the Sorceress Extremists. Their recent acts have been rather disturbing.' Cid's expression was serious, and everyone else at the table suddenly switched to a grave expression.

The Sorceress Extremists or SE was a group of radicals who started to become rather active after the Sorceress War. They were a group who were anti-magic and anti-sorceress. They were people who had suffered greatly during the Adel Regime and during the period where Edea ruled over Galbadia. Scientists, soldiers, workers, civilians who had suffered due to the evil sorceress in their times. At first they sought to convert people into their ranks, brewing rage and anger against the Sorceress whom they labelled as evil. However as fewer people joined them due to the end of the Sorceress era, they have lashed out against the few parties, mainly Garden, who protects the current sorceress, Rinoa. Garden has defended Rinoa with Squall stating that Rinoa was part of their team that defeated the Sorceress Ultimecia, hence is rightfully a member of Garden. They have even taken action against President Caraway of Galbadia, stating that as the father of the sorceress, he should not be in charge of Galbadia. However Governments of various nations have backed Rinoa, stating that she is not a power-hungry sorceress, with Laguna and Caraway being the main backers. The Extremists have not been successful in their political campaign, and have thus reverted to acts of terror and guerrilla warfare. Over the past year, they have carried out hit and run campaigns on major Esthar military bases, they have also stole Estharian weapons as well as staged mini assaults on Balamb Garden. Their attacks they carried out would be considered to be a mere nuisance, but Squall was more worried that they were planning something big, something that would endanger Rinoa's life.

'What do you mean by disturbing?' Squall immediately sounded his concern, which was due to his worry over Rinoa's safety.

'During their last raid two days ago on Esthar's Eastern Naval Base, they managed to steal a Class-3 Underwater Transport.'

'How about weapons? Did they steal anything else?' Already in Squall's mind, he was already formulating a list of things that the SE might try and pull off with the ship they stole. Esthar's Class-3 Underwater Transport could house 100 soldiers, and was capable of moving massive objects in water. It was built solely for the purpose of placing the Lunatic Pandora deep within the ocean so it will never be found again. However Squall was certain it wasn't for this purpose as the Lunatic Pandora was currently guarded at a secret location in Esthar, and it was not underwater. Could the SE be establishing an underwater base since their bases on land were difficult to conceal from Garden and Government authorities? Or could they have found something underwater?

'Nothing else. The Estharian Navy has already released search probes to scour the ocean bed. But without an exact location, we might never be able to find them quick enough.'

Headmaster Vinche shifted in his seat 'The SE's last few moves have been highly confusing. First they fire a few cluster missiles at Balamb Garden that were easily intercepted and destroyed. Kidnap a few old scientists whom they return unharmed a few days later. Then they steal a huge underwater transport that is practically useless. Wads next, take control of Galbadia Garden?' Vinche started laughing but shut himself when nobody did.

'Headmaster Vinche, is there any possibility that SE is involved with that murder you mentioned earlier? If they are, that means they were looking for something and we need to know what they took.' Quistis suddenly broke out from her deep thought. What she just said had caught the interest of everyone in the room.

'Uh, I'm not sure. There wasn't much info about the case when I left my office. I'll go back and check on it.'

'That concludes our meeting for the day. I will see you gentleman soon.' Squall stood up signalling the end of the meeting.

The Headmasters started to take their leave when Headmaster Krall spoke out. 'So have you come up with an effective strategy to deal with the problem faced by Trabia Garden, Commander?' There was great sarcasm in Krall's tone, for he was clearly unhappy against Squall rejecting his proposal flat.

'Of course I have, and I assure you that the best Balamb Garden has to offer will assist your Garden. I will go to Trabia Garden today and solve your threat personally.' Squall replied Krall in a simple manner.

Krall was stunned for he never expected such an answer. In fact, he had no reply to Squall for the Commander had answered his request of providing personnel assistance, in fact the best. He muttered something below his breath and left the room.

When all three Headmasters left the room, Quistis closed the door and with her hands across her hips, turned around and faced Squall, 'I suppose you think you just made a smart move, Commander. But how are you going to rush back in time for the Esthar-Garden summit tomorrow? '

'Shit! I forgot about it.' He smacked his hand on his forehead. 'I guess I have to take the Ragnarok to make up for the lost time.'

'That's if you solve the "threat" in a day. You obviously sound like you have more than twenty-four hours a day. Laguna's going to miss you.'

'I'll make it in time.' It had been a long time since Squall last saw Laguna. Upon knowing that Laguna was his father, Squall had hated the man for leaving him and his mother behind. His mother had died without him beside her. Laguna never asked for his forgiveness. He knew he didn't deserve it, he was just happy now that he had a son and seeing his son was more than enough to make him stay happy. It had taken Squall a long time to accept Laguna, the dreams that Ellone had brought him through had shown him what kind of man Laguna was. He was proud of his father, the extent he went to save a little girl showed him that he was a man with a big heart. He also learned that Laguna had never once forgot about Raine. After the War, Laguna, Ellone and Squall finally managed to come together and patch up the family that they once had. Father, sister and brother were all brought together again.

'Are you sure you're going alone? You could bring along someone else to help you?' Rinoa spoke for the first time. Her voice was soft and sweet, but her eyes carried great concern.

'Don't worry. I'll be fine. I'll come back as soon as I settle things, ok?' He placed his hand on hers and gently gave them a squeeze. The two locked gazes as they were in their own world.

'Ahem,' Quistis cleared her throat to get the attention of the two lovers. She adjusted her glasses, clearly uncomfortable for being the odd one out in the room. 'You better make a move Squall if u intend to make it on time.'

'Sorry Quistis,' Squall got up and hurried himself lest he makes Quistis more annoyed. 'I'll get ready my equipment; Help me get the Ragnarok up and running. And yes, I need a good pilot.'

* * *

Squall made his way back to his room. A familiar figure walked towards him. He had blonde hair and was well built. But what was striking about him was the scar that ran between his eyes across his face, exactly identical to the one Squall had. 'Hey Squall, heard your leaving on a mission?'

'My… Word sure does travel fast.'

The two of them had gone through a lot. Seifer and Squall, both had travelled such a different path, yet in terms of calibre, they were almost equal. After the War, Seifer was trialled for all kinds of war crimes, for Garden, Galbadia and even Esthar. The amount of blood shed on his account was uncountable. Yet he was shown the greatest mercy by one man, Squall. Squall had argued and defended Seifer from the various nations hunting for his head, even within Garden itself, many could not accept Seifer's re-acceptance into Garden, some treated him with great disrespect and hatred for the things that he had done. Squall argued that Seifer was never in control of his life, it was Ultimecia whom had sadistically tortured and twisted his mind and soul, and what that was left of Seifer was just an empty shell to do Ultimecia's bidding. He issued an ultimatum, demanding Seifer be given a chance. No one understood why Squall did all this to help Seifer, but the one person who could ever understand why was Seifer himself. When he first heard that Squall was fighting for him, he thought Squall was out to humiliate him; his fiercest rival saving him from impending doom was a bitter pill to swallow. But when he finally got face to face with Squall, he knew he was wrong. The look in Squall's eyes told Seifer everything. For all these years, Squall's eyes had always sparkled with a desire to win and compete with Seifer, something that Seifer took up gladly, hence their bitter rivalry. Even during his mad days, Seifer could remember the burning fire in Squall's eyes, the will to bring him down and defeat him. Yet when he finally met Squall, it was a desire to help Seifer, a genuine acceptance of Seifer as a friend that filled those eyes, a sight no one has ever given him. In the end, all the insults and anger that he was ready to throw at Squall disappeared, and all he had was one question. 'Why did you help me?'

'Because I've been there.' Seifer would never forget what he said that day. From that moment, the proud and arrogant knight that once resided in Seifer was no longer present. He was re-accepted into Garden, the crimes that he was trialled for lifted, but punishment was still issued. He was to work in the Garden Cafeteria, not come into contact with any form of weapons are magic for 10 years and not get involved in any kind of trouble. Seifer accepted it willingly, for he knew he deserved worse.

'Hehe, you hear all kinds of rumours in the cafeteria.'

'Well it's kind of a wild goose chase. Anyway why are you here?'

'Oh, was doing delivery service.'

'But that's not your job.' Squall knew that Seifer was being pushed around doing all kinds of odd jobs. The other cafeteria workers often sent Seifer to run errands they were lazy to do. Knowing that he couldn't get into trouble, they forced him to do everything.

'Nah, its ok Squall, I'm used to it.'

'I'm sorry Seifer, I wish I could do something…'

'Squall, you have done more than I could ever have wished for. Ever since u guys accepted me into the gang, I have become a changed man. Gone was the Seifer of the old. It's all because of the chance you gave me and I will treasure it always.'

Squall could see the determination in Seifer's eyes. It had taken time for the rest of the gang to accept him, but they could all see that Seifer was different and eventually became friends with him willingly, even Zell had stood up for Seifer once or twice when he was being bullied.

'I'll see what I can do about it when I get back. Need to rush for time now. Take care Seifer.'

* * *

Squall went straight to his room. He intended to go light, and the Lion Heart was all he needed for the mission. Taking the weapon out of the case where he usually kept it, he made a few swings with it. The beautifully crafted weapon flowed smoothly in his grip with deft precision and accuracy. The blue crystalline blade hummed softly, its energies resonating deep within the blade. Only a gunblade master like Squall could expertly channel the energies and strike it with power, giving the Lion Heart an extra cutting edge and power that a normal gunblade could never achieve. Squall attached the Lion Heart to his side; he always felt a sense of serenity when he was one with his blade. Just as he was about to leave his room, a voice spoke out.

'You are the one that I have been looking for.'

The voice caught Squall off guard, it was impossible that an intruder could make it into his room undetected, let alone with him in the room. Lion Heart was drawn quickly and Squall positioned himself in a combat stance while facing the intruder. But to his surprise, there was no one to be seen.

'Show yourself!' Squall was certain the man was using a very powerful cloaking device for Squall could detect no trace of the intruder.

'Your heart is disturbed. Calm down and you shall see me.' Squall closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. He felt a cooling sensation wash over him. He opened his eyes.

A young teenage boy faced him. The boy could not have been older than 15. He wore very plain clothes, and smiled calmly at him.

'Squall Leonhart, the Seal of the Magi has been broken. The Triumvirate has returned and I need your help to stop them. U must come to…'

'Wait, I don't understand a word your saying. Who are you?'

'Be patient my child. I will answer your queries when the time comes.'

Who the hell is he calling a child? It was evident Squall was the older one. 'I have no time for your childish games. I have to rush back after dealing with a dragon to attend a summit tomorrow.'

'There won't be a summit.' The boy suddenly looked saddened as he said his final words before fading into existence.

'Wait! What do u mean there won't be a summit?' The mysterious boy's last words triggered Squall's interests, but he was alone in the room again.

'Stupid boy… Fading in and out of my room like nobody's business. Who the hell does he think he is?' Squall was clearly pissed at what just happened. He didn't like being in the dark and under the control of higher beings. But he was determined to get to the bottom of things. The summit will go on according to plan and he will personally see to it.

* * *

'What's the status?'

'Motion sensors read that the "package" is finally stable. We are ready to proceed to the next level, Extraction.' The operator tapped a few more keys and brought up more display windows. 'Extraction vessel in place, we are good to go.'

'I want 100 percent confirmation that the "package" is stable enough for extraction. There is no room for failure. Run the tests again.'

The operator hesitated for a moment. This was the second time he was running the tests, and it looks like he was going to have to do it again. He hoped it was the last time for he didn't like it down in the ocean one bit.

Hojo moved from his commanding post to the front portion of the ship. Estharian technology was required for this operation. Looking out of the ship, he saw the "package". It seemed to pulsate with life, emitting a soft green glow. Hojo smiled to himself, the sacrifices and the waiting was all worth it. All the pieces have been set in place and Garden was too stupid to realize the trap he had set. Soon full-scale war shall begin and the SE will crush garden like a fly with this weapon they possess. The thought only made him happier and Hojo started to laugh maniacally. The crew members all spun around in surprise, but continued their work silently, ignoring their leader's sudden outburst that happened more often for the past few days.


	3. Sorceress

**Chapter 3 : Sorceress**

'Don't kid me… 3 of us required to take a person down?'

'Orders are to capture the target alive, maybe that's why.'

'Damn, I can't believe we're thrown into action so quickly.'

'But I prefer more bloody action, not this kind of whiny shit.'

'Boss always gives the shit to us! Charon gets the better end of the deal every time.'

'I think he doesn't trust our abilities, we're even given tools for this mission.'

'The hell is this thing?'

'Shut up or I'll blast you to pieces!' Ophelia had enough of the twins. Peace and quiet seem to elude Ben and Bill. Although Ophelia had full confidence in her abilities, Claudius and Rosencrantz had other things in mind, hence the terrible twins were included.

Seeing Ophelia's outrage, the twins quieten down, they knew better than to get on her nerves. But as usual, they just couldn't resist talking.

'Hey Ophelia, it isn't really you to burst so easily. Something else bothering you?' Bill decided to pop the question.

He was right, something else was bothering her, and it came in the form of an armlet that the twins were entrusted with. Ever since her brothers told her the plan, she had objected to it but to no avail. The armlet had been giving her troublesome headaches and was draining her powers. "The Goddess Seal", created by The Magi during the Centra War, it failed to serve its purpose, which was to capture Ophelia. The relic had been stolen by her brother Rosencrantz and was kept secret and forgotten as time passed. Today it was to be used ironically by them.

'Don't tell me it's because of this?' Ben waved the armlet in front of Ophelia cheekily.

At the sight of the armlet, a sudden emptiness washed over Ophelia, draining her of her powers momentarily, but she regained them quickly.

'Put that thing in my face again and you will regret being born into this world.'

It wasn't the tone used by Ophelia that scared the twins; it was her eyes. They flashed bright silver. It was a sign that Ophelia was ready to kill. The two shut their mouths immediately and turned away, pretending that nothing ever happened.

* * *

'All right! All decorations are up! Well done people, lets call it a day!'

The students let out a cheer as the preparations were completed. Slogging through the whole morning had been tiring, but Selphie remained upbeat and chirpy as normal. Irvine tried to keep up with her, but all that work seriously took a toll on his stamina.

'God I'm beat Selphie, don't you ever get tired?'

'Hehe, waddaya think? The day's just begun Irvine, we still have a lot more work to do!'

'Work? You're kidding me right? My bones are giving way…'

'Awww come on you lazybum!' Selphie playfully punched Irvine and was about to drag him to some other part of Garden when a young student crashed right into them. The student was clearly rushing for time as he hurriedly said sorry and was about to leave when Irvine caught hold of him.

'Whoa whoa, where you rushing to? In quite a bit of hurry eh?'

'Its urgent, soldiers have been sighted in Balamb. They are suspected to be from SE. Two Balamb cadets have stayed back for further recon, but I have suddenly lost contact with them. I need to report to the authorities.'

'You are speaking to the authorities.' Selphie said cheekily, 'We will check it out so don't worry ya?'

Seeing the lost look on the young student's face, Irvine reassured him 'Looks like you don't know us. I'm Lieutenant Irvine and this is Lieutenant Selphie from the upper echelons of the Garden Council. Report back to your superiors and tell them that we are on the case.'

At the mention of their names, the student immediately recognised the famous figures in front of him. He apologised again and quickly rushed off, still fazed by what just went on. However the adventure has just begun for Selphie and Irvine.

'Hehe, looks like we're gonna get a chance to kick some butt!'

'Take it easy Selphie, its kinda dangerous that just the 2 of us are taking on those SE troops, if they really are of SE origin, although I wonder why are they being so open. Stealth is their specialty.'

'Who cares! As long as I get to kick some butt, it doesn't matter who they are to me.' Selphie was already on her feet and on the move. Irvine quickly followed her to the parking lot. No backup whatsoever, he had a bad feeling about what was going to happen.

* * *

Squall hesitated before boarding the Ragnarok. He had many queries that needed answering, and his answers lie with the mysterious boy who has urged him to go to Trabia. Yet he couldn't leave everything that mattered to him behind, especially the ones he loved. He had a day to set things right. The great evil that the boy had mentioned didn't manage to create much of an impression for Squall. 'That boy has no idea what I have went through.' He thought about the epic battle that he had with Ultimecia. Squall had set out to put those torrid days behind him, peace was what he worked towards now, and he was determined to ensure everything stayed that way.

He went straight for the Ragnarok's cockpit. Grabbing the communication receiver from the pilot, he dialled straight for Quistis.

'Quistis, ensure everything goes fine while I'm not around, especially the summit. I have a feeling that things might not turn out smoothly. Expect the unexpected.'

'Everything will be under control when you return. You have my word.'

'In case I don't come back within a day's time, assume my duties for the time being. And…' Squall paused, he felt awkward saying this to Quistis.

Quistis had already guessed what Squall was going to say. 'Don't worry, I'll make sure she's fine. You take care and make sure you get back by the deadline. Quistis out.'

He silently thanked Quistis and moved to his seat. The pilot was clearly excited at having such a distinguished person as his passenger. 'Uh..em… Commander Squall, take-off will commence in 2 minutes time.'

'Make haste.' The pilot sensed that the commander wasn't in the mood for talk; he was after all famous for being a man of few words. The pilot quickly went over the procedures and prepped the Ragnarok for take-off as soon as possible.

* * *

This wasn't what he had in mind.

The capture was swift, being overly engrossed on following the few troops in front of them, the sudden appearance of an entire platoon behind them caught them off-guard. Subdued with ease, they were brought face to face with the leader of the platoon.

'Caught ourselves a few Garden rats have we.' The leader took a swing at one of the Garden cadets. His fist caught the cadet squarely in the face, but the force was so great that it twisted his head to an awkward position, accompanying it was the sick cracking sound of bones. The troops holding the cadet's hands let go of him as he slumped to the ground.

Alan stared at his dead companion. 'One punch… He killed him in one punch.' The thought echoed through his mind as he tried to digest what had just happened.

'Feeling scared? Don't bother kid, you're the bait, so you'll live. Entertain our guest in the meantime.'

A soldier stepped in front of Alan while adjusting his gloves. He had an evil grin spread all over his face. The first blow came hard, smacking right into Alan's stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Before he could recover from the first blow, the second blow came smack across his face. He tasted blood in his mouth, already feeling dizzy, the third and fourth blows landed into his gut again. It was the final fifth blow that did the damage. Feeling a crushing sensation in his stomach, he felt blood rush up to his mouth, forcing him to vomit it out.

Seeing the Garden cadet coughing blood made the soldier laugh out loud. 'Can't take a few hits? You Garden pussies sure are weak. Come entertain me some more!'

The sadistic soldier laughed and continued administering beatings at his own leisure.

* * *

Rinoa lay on her bed, staring blankly into space. She was alone in her room and was bored as usual. A secretary was usually bogged down with all kinds of work, managing her boss's schedules, files and other stuff, but not Squall's secretary. Although she was given work to do, she was smart and witty enough to finish them way ahead of schedule, coupled by the fact that Squall did not want to overwork Rinoa, it usually ended up with her being very free. Instead of staying in the command area in the higher floors of Balamb Garden, she preferred to hole herself up in her room and enjoy peaceful moments alone.

'Bored aren't we?'

Rinoa spun around in shock. She wasn't expecting any visitors and she recalled locking her door. Furthermore, the person who was standing in front of her was a complete stranger. She was a beautiful woman, although dressed in a weird outfit, with long pieces of cloth hanging over her body loosely.

'Who are you, and how did u get in?' She quickly stood up, facing the intruder. She regarded the strange woman with caution until she was sure of her motives.

'I can sense the powers you possess. It is only wise to eliminate a potential threat early before she becomes a nuisance later.'

'What are you talking about? You're unauthorized trespassing of Garden property can send you to jail for 15 years. Get out of here before I call security to kick you out.'

'You clearly do not understand the danger facing you.'

Only then did Rinoa sense it, the woman had concealed her powers to keep Rinoa's guard down. She had just lifted the lid off her powers and Rinoa could feel the woman's powers intensify at a frightening pace. She was a sorceress just like Rinoa!

'That's not possible! How can there be another sorceress? Who are you!'

The woman laughed. 'It appears Hyne didn't manage to destroy this magic power, allowing it to reside in a human vessel. The power survived by transferring from one generation to the other, one sorceress to the next. Logically speaking, at any one time frame, only one sorcerer can exist, and in this generation you are that sorceress.'

'That's right, and this is the third time I'm asking you this question. Who…Are… YOU?'

* * *

Ophelia enjoyed the annoyed look of her prey. It felt great being the one in power, she knew things the younger girl didn't and she wasn't going to let Rinoa know.

Without warning, sparks of electricity shot from Ophelia's hand towards Rinoa. She moved her hand instinctively in front of her chest, palming away the attack. It was a weak attack and Rinoa expected more to come. As she predicted, her surroundings increased in temperature rapidly. Rinoa quickly cast Shell to protect her from the Firaga spell that had erupted around her. Rinoa was forced to raise more protective barriers as more spells rammed against her. Her attacker was fast and ruthless, keeping Rinoa on the defensive and preventing her from launching any attacks of her own.

A powerful Thundaga ripped through the ground as Rinoa did a back flip, evading the spell as the area where she was standing only moments ago was replaced with a charred crater. Still in air, Rinoa was about to cast an offensive spell of her own when a strong gust of wind slammed into her side. Caught in the Aero spell, Rinoa spun out of control and crash-landed into the wall. Gritting her teeth, she rolled to her left as a Thunder spell missed her by mere inches. She quickly got up and raised more protective defences in time to block the next spell from Ophelia. 'Her speed is insane! Her chain spells are so fast that I can't raise proper defences to buy time for my own attack.' Rinoa was awed by her assailant's skill, but it didn't bode well for the young sorceress who was struggling with her life on the line. She wondered how long could she still keep up with this madness.

* * *

'Vice-Commander! We are detecting heavy magic activity in the dorms! Structural damage confirmed!'

Quistis was on the alert upon hearing that distress call from the operator. 'What room is it coming from? Check whether there has been a breech of security.'

'Room 341. Perimeter detectors have detected nothing. No forced entry of any sort.'

Quistis froze when she heard the room number. It was Rinoa's room and it only meant that she was in danger.

'Alert security immediately! Dispatch SeeDs to the area ASAP. I don't want anyone getting out of the compound!' Quistis was shouting commands and on the move all at the same time. She rushed out of the Garden Command Centre and headed down the lift as fast as she could. She wasn't about to break the promise she made just an hour ago. Her mind quickly went through the possible list of intruders. The SE was highly probable given that Rinoa was their top priority, and they had conveniently chosen the moment when Squall was not in Garden. What worried her was how they got in. Garden security was tight, making it impossible for non-Garden personnel to enter the premises without being detected. It only meant that they had an insider to help them. Quistis shuddered at the thought that Garden had a mole within them. It appeared that the day had just gotten a lot worse for Quistis.

* * *

'Damn Squall! He goes hunting White Dragons and leaves me all alone to rot back here. Some friend he is.' Zell took a big bite into his hotdog with great displeasure. He had heard the news that Squall was on a mission to Trabia to search for the enigmatic White Dragon. Initially, Zell had been rather excited at the prospect of meeting one, and while trying to look for Squall, word reached his ear that Squall had already left on the Ragnarok. In the midst of his anger, Zell went to the Cafeteria, asked Seifer to whip up some of his favourite hotdogs, and left Garden to the Balamb forest to let off some steam. If he was lucky, he might even get to let loose his frustration on a T-Rex.

Three bite bugs flew towards Zell, eager to suck on some human flesh. With both his hands full with hotdogs, Zell ran towards a tree and ran up the tree with his momentum, he kicked off at the highest point and aiming for one of the bite bugs, his heel landing smack on its back, bringing the bug down to the ground and effectively squashing the life out of it. Another bite bug flew straight for Zell, taking the offensive with its sting poised to strike. But Zell was faster, he leapt and caught the bug with his foot, kicking it with such force that it ended up splattered onto a nearby tree. The last bug attacked Zell from his flank, trying to catch him off guard. But Zell anticipated the attack and swung his fist into the bug's abdomen, smashing his fist through it. He flicked the bug of his hand, only to realise the damage the bugs had done to him. He was stained with bug goo, but most importantly the remaining hotdogs in his hands were covered all over with bug goo. Zell threw the spoilt food on the ground and cursed his luck.

He heard laughter from behind him. Zell turned around and found the source of laughter. It was a knight covered in full body armour that was black as ebony. His black helmet did not cover his face, but in place was a golden mask. He looked to have a broadsword slung over his back. Seeing that Zell had spotted him he stopped his laughter and surprisingly turned around, walking away from Zell.

That pissed Zell off even more. If that guy thought that he could laugh at Zell and get away with it, Zell was ready to show him how wrong he was. 'Hey you! Stop! Come and face me like a man!'

But the knight continued walking as though he did not hear Zell's words. Zell increased his pace and ran after the knight. 'You deaf or what? I said stop!'

As Zell was about to catch up with the knight, he suddenly spun around and with inhuman speed, drew his broadsword and slammed the ground. The earth split into two from the point of impact. The move took Zell by surprise, but he managed to leap to one side as the ground below him separated. The knight already anticipated Zell's move and had just cleaved a tree cleanly at its trunk, causing it to fall right onto Zell. Zell immediately rolled backwards to avoid the falling tree. 'What the..!' Zell was again caught by surprise as the tree slammed at him, knocking him right in his chest and sending him flying backwards. The knight had punched the tree at the other end with such force, using it as a projectile to ram against Zell.

'It is not time for us to battle yet. You will have your chance.'

Although Zell was far away from the knight, he heard those words clearly as though they were spoken right next to him. He helped himself up; the knight was nowhere to be seen. The rubbed his chest, trying to soothe the pain caused by the impact. That knight had caught hold of his interest and it was clear that he was no ordinary knight. He was more than a match for Zell, and was clearly the kind of opponent that Zell was looking for. 'Yeah, I look forward to our next encounter.'

* * *

Ophelia had picked up her pace. She was keen in pushing the young sorceress to her limits. Up till now, she was rather pleased with the sorceress performance. It was time to up the test another notch.

Rinoa dodged the flying table and quickly raised another barrier in time to ward off the Blizzaga that just rammed her defences. Her assailant's spells had increased in complexity over time. At the start, Rinoa was fending off elemental spells blasted in her direction at frightening pace. As she concentrated fully on the spells being casted at her direction, a table crashed from behind her sending her tumbling to the ground. Before she could even get up, the carpet that she was lying on suddenly coiled around her, wrapping her tightly to the point of suffocation. Rinoa cast a light Blizzard spell on herself, hardening the carpet thus allowing her to break free of it, just to suffer the full force of a Firaga blast. She quickly cast a Shell on herself to shield her from the remaining blast. Rinoa fought off the pain caused by the last attack that had badly scalded her. The addition of telekinetic attacks had made things even more difficult, coupled by the increase in speed of her assailant's attacks, it looked as though Rinoa was going through a test of increasing difficulty. She braced herself for the next onslaught.

Rinoa's mirror was ripped from the wall and thrown towards her. She knew it was a risk she had to take. Instead of avoiding the mirror, she shot a quick thunder spell at Ophelia, who was clearly surprised at Rinoa's sudden offence. She deflected the spell with ease but just as Rinoa planned, the sudden lapse of concentration by Ophelia caused the mirror to crash to the floor instead of Rinoa. Rinoa took the advantage given to her and pressed on with her own attack. She quickly threw light elemental spells against Ophelia, keen to let her have a taste of her own medicine. However no matter how fast Rinoa tried, Ophelia always seemed a step ahead of her, raising defences way before spells were cast at her.

Ophelia laughed out loud. 'Is this the best you can do young sorceress? This game has gone far too long, time for the final test.'

The ground beneath Rinoa suddenly gave way as Rinoa realized a Quake spell had just been cast. She quickly casted Float on herself, avoiding the calamity. It was at this moment when an invisible force grabbed hold of Rinoa's neck. Her hands tried to pry off whatever that was causing her suffocation. Ophelia had manifested her telekinetic powers to directly assault Rinoa, choking her to death. Rinoa struggled with all her might but to no avail. Her best bet was to attack Ophelia and make her lose concentration thus she tried to aim a spell. However, it seemed her mind was being read as she was roughly thrown towards the wall. She landed on the wall hard, cracks appearing from the area of impact. Instead of falling to the ground, Ophelia grabbed hold of Rinoa once more and slammed her against the wall another time. She used so much force till the wall almost tumbled down, chunks of it already falling off. She let go of the young sorceress, her battered body slumping to the ground.

Rinoa struggled to get up. Her whole body ached in intense pain as bood trickled down her head. Breathing in short and quick breaths, she noticed her vision was slightly blurred. The last attack had injured Rinoa severely; she could sense internal bleeding within her body. Supporting herself against the wall, she slowly pushed herself up. She could vaguely make out Ophelia in a relaxed pose, hands at her hips, clearly awaiting Rinoa's next move. Even in top condition, she was no match for Ophelia, her current state only made matters worse. It was time to use it.

Ophelia knew she had badly injured the young sorceress; the battle was clearly over. Yet she stood up and prepared herself. Ophelia was impressed at Rinoa's will, not only was she skilled, she refused to bow down and admit defeat. She would have made a very good student, her resilient character suited Ophelia's taste.

'You have lost young one; there is no point in defying me. Admit defeat and I will accept you as my student.'

Rinoa steadied her shaking self, one hand reached for a pendant around her neck. 'Dream on.' Two angelic wings suddenly sprouted from Rinoa's back, she floated in the air magically before landing back on the ground, her eyes entering a trance-state.

'You persist.' Ophelia sighed inwardly.

She waved her hand and prepared to cast the final few spells that will finish off Rinoa. To her horror, her first spell rebounded back against her! Rinoa had cast a Reflect spell so quickly that Ophelia didn't even notice and for the first time in their battle, Ophelia was forced to move from her position. Evading the Thundaga spell, Ophelia quickly raised powerful defences to ward of the multiple spells cast on her. It appeared to Ophelia that Rinoa had suddenly doubled her casting speed, a speed that could match her own. A Meltdown spell crashed through Ophelia's defences and consumed her in a beam of intense white light. Ophelia shrieked in pain, Rinoa was casting powerful spells at the same speed as normal spells. Ophelia struggled to keep up with the sudden turn of events and made a telekinetic grab at Rinoa. It further shocked her to realize that she was unable to feel Rinoa through her telekinetic powers, as though she was immune from it. Only then did she realize that Rinoa had entered a berserk trance, granting her even greater power, the Rinoa she was facing now was much stronger than the previous one.

Ophelia defences shuddered under the Tornado spell. Her barriers were on the verge of collapse as strong torrents of wind and flying furniture slammed mercilessly into them. The entire room was in total chaos. Small white orbs were being released from Rinoa's hands, slowly increasing in intensity. 'Oh no…' Ophelia looked on motionless as in that split second, the entire room was engulfed in pure white light. She vomited blood instantly as the Holy spell washed over her, burning her evil essence and causing unimaginable pain.

Pain was replaced by rage as Ophelia's eyes flickered bright silver. She too started to float. She spread her arms wide and bellowed 'DO NOT MOCK ME YOUNG SORCERESS. FEEL THE MIGHT OF THE TRIUMVIRATE!'

Rinos's spells fizzled into air, whatever magic she cast was all sucked into a void that appeared in front of Ophelia. The berserked Rinoa reacted by drawing on more powerful forbidden magic, but before she could do anything she was swept off her feet by a powerful force. The entire roof suddenly ripped off as the void slowly rose into the air and disappeared. The windowpanes in the room shattered, the glass splinters showered against Rinoa. She slammed into the wall, followed by the splinters of glass. Rinoa screamed in agony, the berserk trance being overcome by the blistering pain she felt. Ophelia slowly hovered towards her. Rinoa could not move a single finger; the powerful force crushed her flat against the wall. Ophelia grabbed Rinoa roughly at her throat; her touch was cold as frost. The powerful force disappeared as Ophelia lifted Rinoa and brought her face to face with her, their faces barely inches apart from one another.

'Suffer and die…' She whispered to Rinoa and threw her like a lifeless rag onto the floor. Rinoa tumbled and rolled on the floor, only to be shocked by electricity shot out from Ophelia's hands. She squirmed and writhed in agony as Ophelia continued to torture her with continual shocks. The torture seemed to last forever and Rinoa prayed that everything would stop.

As though answering her prayers, it did stop. It was only then did Rinoa realise why for a powerful draining sensation engulfed her, she could feel her magical powers being sapped away. Ophelia felt it too as the shine in her eyes dimmed and she collapsed onto the ground. Two figures appeared beside Rinoa and attached armlets on each of her hands. They were so quick that Rinoa didn't even have time to react or even see their faces, but once the armlets were done, the effect was instantaneous.

It was as though her life force was being sucked right out of her. Any magical powers she once possessed were suddenly lost for she couldn't feel it anymore; all her junctions were also gone. She felt encapsulated into another realm as she slowly lost consciousness. She mustered any remaining strength her tired body had left and sent a signal to Squall. She barely managed to utter his name before blacking out into oblivion.

* * *

'Squall…'

The voice was soft but Squall recognized the voice immediately as he jerked awake from sleep. It was Rinoa, and she was in danger. He tried to feel her through the intimate Sorceress-Knight bond that they shared but couldn't feel anything. It was as though the bond had been severed, which happened if one of them died. He clenched his fist tightly and struggled to hold back the tears that started to well in his eyes.

'Turn back to Garden now!'

The pilot turned around in surprise. A moment ago, the commander was fast asleep in his seat, yet now he was suddenly overcome with emotion. 'But… but Commander, we are reaching Trabia Garden in ETA 30 minutes. Are you certain…' His words faltered as he realised that he was questioning a direct order from the highest authority of Garden.

Another voice echoed in his head. 'She's alive. I can feel it.'

Squall remembered the voice. He just heard it earlier in the morning. It was the boy.

'How do you know?'

'I just know. You do not realize the gravity of the situation. If you turn back, you might indirectly cause her death.'

'Why should I trust you?'

'You have to. We both need each other's help. Come to this location.'

Immediately in Squall's mind, a map appeared, telling him where exactly to land. He got up to his seat and went over to the pilot. He brought up a map of Trabia and searched for the place he was instructed to land.

The pilot was left in a state of confusion. He had heard all about the legendary Squall Leonhart, the battles he had fought and the foes he had overcome. Yet it looked as though he had a mentally unstable person on his ship.

'Bring the ship here, we're not going to Trabia Garden anymore.' Squall didn't even bother to wait for a reply; he went back to his seat and slumped into it. Silently, he hoped for Rinoa's safety and prayed that he would be able to save her in time. He just couldn't lose her.

The pilot looked at the coordinates given, it was located deep within the mountains of the Trabia plains. He thought about questioning the Commander's actions but decided against it. 'Yes commander.' He keyed in the new coordinates and steered the ship to its new destination.


	4. Abduction

**Chapter 4 : Abduction**

Ophelia slowly regained her strength and stood up, just to see Bill carrying Rinoa in his arms and Ben walking towards her.

'We have the girl! Lets go!'

'What the hell are you two doing here? You two were to wait outside while I duelled with her. Not interrupting halfway!'

'Hey! You expect us to clean up small fry while you have fun in here? Hell, you even ripped off the roof!' Ben was clearly exasperated at Ophelia for her ungratefulness.

'That's right! You can't be so selfish Ophelia! Having all the fun while we only get to do a bit of warming up…' Bill stopped as he noticed the blood on Ophelia's lips. 'OH! She actually managed to hurt you! Haha, not so strong after all eh Ophelia?'

The two twins started laughing at Ophelia. She was about to rebut the two twins when more Garden cadets stormed the room. Bill placed Rinoa at a side and they both went to face the cadets. They moved with incredible speed, swiftly dispatching the Garden cadets one by one. Both of them were armed with a metal rod that they used with brutal efficiency, crushing bone and skull with great skill. The eight Garden cadets who stormed the room were all down and out in minutes.

'What are you waiting for Ophelia? Get us out of here!'

Bill was interrupted when the end of a whip lashed out at him. He ducked just in time as the whip whizzed past him. He turned around to meet his new opponent. 'Leave this one to me Ben, you get the girl!'

Bill charged at Quistis who lashed out at him. He raised his rod to block the attack, but the whip coiled around the rod and she flung him towards the wall. With extreme agility, Bill repositioned himself in air and instead of crashing his head into the wall, his feet did. Sliding down from the wall, he gave his rod a strong tug, pulling Quistis towards him. She anticipated that and had already jumped beforehand, using the momentum to guide her straight towards Bill, her feet aiming for his head. Again he ducked with frightening pace, her feet slamming the wall and causing cracks to appear. With the distance between them closed down significantly, he took the opportunity to attack Quistis. With the rod going for her head, she raised her free arm and made a grab at Bill's attacking hand, guiding it down to the floor, meanwhile with a deft flick, she uncoiled her whip from the rod and expertly swung it around her opponent's neck. As the rod crashed onto the floor, Quistis was already tightening her grip on her whip, breaking her opponent's neck at any moment.

Suddenly, her opponent started spinning very quickly. She quickly let go of him to avoid being thrown off, her whip being swung off violently. What her opponent just did was impossible; he was spinning in mid air like a hurricane, forcing her to let go of him. He came to a stop and looked at Quistis, a smile appearing on his face.

'You're good. I actually have to use my GF to fight you.' He turned back and saw Ophelia surrounded with a blue aura. 'We will meet another time, till then!' He dashed towards Ophelia. Ben was beside her with Rinoa in his arms. Quistis tried to follow but she wasn't quick enough. Immediately when Bill neared them, a bright blue flash erupted. The force threw Quistis back. When the blue light subsided, they were nowhere to be seen.

Xu appeared behind Quistis with more SeeD personnel, but was surprised to find the room empty.

'What happened? Where are they?'

Quistis slowly got up from the ground. 'They got away through a portal. Don't ask me how. What I need now is an ID check on the unknown enemies. Ready a Garden strike team; we're going to get Rinoa back. Get the injured to the medical room now.'

She was about to leave the room when a SeeD personnel asked the obvious. 'How are we going to find where they went if they left by a portal?'

Quistis stopped in her tracks. She suddenly slammed her fist into the wall, and shouted. 'I DON'T KNOW!'

Xu and the other SeeD personnel were all taken aback by Quistis sudden reaction. Quistis was always calm and composed yet it seemed the Quistis standing in front of them now was completely out of her mind.

Quistis mind was in a complete chaos, the recent events had thrown her completely off her feet. Squall seemed to have known that something unusual was going to happen. Indeed, unusual things have been going on. First, unknown assailants manage to infiltrate Garden. They kidnapped Rinoa, wounded and killed many Balamb students, performed inhuman feats and vanished into thin air through a portal. Quistis recalled seeing the state Rinoa was in; she was badly bruised all over, cuts from head to toe and bleeding profusely. She was far from safe, as Quistis had promised Squall. In fact, near-death might be the right words to describe Rinoa's current state, and that was if she was still alive. Looking at the destruction surrounding her, it was evident that the person who attacked Rinoa was powerful, very powerful. The fact that they were fighting an unknown enemy only made matters worse.

Quistis turned around as a hand was placed on her shoulder. It was Xu. 'We will get her back. Have faith Quistis.'

Xu was right, Quistis had to be strong in such a situation. She was in-charge of Garden since Squall wasn't around, she could not falter at this point of time. She quickly gathered herself. 'Gather all senior SeeD personnel in the command room ASAP. We have work to do.'

* * *

15 minutes was all it took for Selphie to get to Balamb, being a reckless driver helped. They quickly got off their jeep and surveyed the area for any disturbances. The town people were all indoors; it was obvious that something was going on. It wasn't long before they noticed a group of soldiers at the docks and two Garden cadets. One lay on the floor motionless, the other was badly bruised, and was still being beaten up. There was also a sleek hovercraft docked nearby, no doubting who owns it.

Selphie continued to watch the soldiers intently, trying to study more on the threat they were facing. Irvine however felt increasingly uneasy. Something was definitely amiss, he just knew it. This uncanny ability of his to detect brooding trouble had saved his life countless times. He suddenly sensed movement behind him, he whirled around to see soldiers approaching him silently from the back. The Exetor was raised even before the soldier right behind him could react. Two quick shots erupted from Irvine's shotgun as the soldier fell to the ground dead. The rest of the soldiers quickly took cover behind any object they could find.

'You take the front troops, I'll cover your back!'

Selphie was caught by surprise by the sudden events occurring, but followed Irvine's commands and went to deal with the troops surrounding the Garden cadet. Their cover was obviously blown, they had to take the offensive before their enemies could steady themselves.

The SE leader spotted Selphie charging towards his men, he recognized her immediately. 'Jabs up men! Proceed with plan!'

Straight away, all the soldiers took out a needle and injected themselves at the arm, except for the leader and another soldier. Their leader walked up to the cadet who was in a state of unconsciousness. He jabbed a needle into his arm and left him lying on the ground. The rest of the soldiers, save the one who didn't take any injections, went to confront Selphie.

Seven soldiers encircled Selphie, all armed with stun batons. But what caught her nerves was that every one of them was smirking with confidence, as though they were going to win. Selphie was determined to prove them all wrong. She held her powerful nunchaku, Strange Vision in her hands, without warning she slammed the end of her weapon at a soldier who got to close. But the guard surprised her by parrying her blow swiftly with his baton. Two other guards quickly seized the opportunity and charged at Selphie, who retracted her nunchaku quickly and blocked the oncoming blows. She spun around just in time to dodge a blow from behind. As the soldier stumbled forward, Selphie crashed the baton of her nunchaku into his face. She quickly rolled backwards, unable to follow up with the previous attack as she dodged more incoming attacks. She flicked her baton against the legs of an attacking soldier and tripped him, swirled around and caught a baton with one of her hands. She was clearly surprised by the force of the attack; it was not possible for non-junctioned humans to have that kind of strength. Instead of forcefully stopping the attack with her hand, she allowed the attack to follow through, shifting her weight to one side and swung the soldier over, allowing him to fall onto the ground hard. Immediately, another blow aimed for Selphie's head, which she ducked with ease, and administered a forceful blow of her own into the soldier's gut with the butt of her nunchaku, followed by another blow into his face, sending him crashing to the ground. The remaining soldiers suffered similar fate as their comrades before them.

Just when Selphie thought it was over, the soldiers stood up one by one. She was taken aback by their speedy recovery, but what alarmed Selphie was the colour of their blood. It was blue. A soldier licked his lips disgustingly and said 'Shall we continue?'

With frightful speed, a soldier was already in front of Selphie, bashing his baton at her. She barely had time to block the blow when two other soldiers appeared at her sides. She leapt up and kicked the first soldier hard, using the momentum to push herself backwards, avoiding the attacks of the other soldiers. As she got up from a backward roll, two more soldiers were already beside her. The baton came so quickly that she barely had time to react, hitting her hard on her cheek. The other soldier hit her also as she fell to the floor. She did a quick roll and quickly got back up. However the soldiers didn't pursue immediately, they were satisfied that they managed to hit her and were taking their own sweet time to surround her.

The soldiers had suddenly increased their speed. Not only were they tougher and stronger, but their blood was a different colour. Selphie ignored the pain she felt and focused on the battle facing her, she wasn't going to hold back any more against these monsters. She charged towards one of the soldiers. As she neared the guard, she suddenly jumped upwards. The guard was caught by surprise, he looked up just to see the end of the Strange Vision crashing right into his skull. No mercy was shown as the soldier's head practically split into two, blue blood splattering everywhere. The other soldiers were clearly angered by the death of their fellow comrade. They rushed at Selphie, only to see her lashing out at another of their companion, the blow coming so fast that he was unprepared to block it. The nunchaku went for his neck, snapping it on impact and ending his life. Some soldiers stopped in their tracks, clearly startled at the sudden turn of events, while others went berserk and charged at Selphie. Their stupidity was rewarded. Selphie easily sidestepped a soldier's attack, and grappled the soldier's neck with her nunchaku, easily crushing it with the adamantine chain. Another soldier attacked Selphie from behind, but Selphie was adapting to their increased speed, matching them blow for blow. She blocked the first blow, caught his arm and administered a strong toss, lifting the soldier into the air and slamming him to the ground, following up with a heel into his chest, crushing his ribcage.

The remaining three soldiers slowly backed off from Selphie. Indeed they were much stronger than regular troops, even rivalling some of Garden's SeeDs in terms of speed and strength, but they were no match for Selphie when she was serious. When fully junctioned, her strength and speed were a class above those soldiers.

'Back off, I didn't expect you fools to beat her. She's mine.'

It was the SE leader, followed by the soldier who didn't take the jab. There was something vaguely familiar about the two. Selphie recalled hearing that voice before. As they neared Selphie, she finally recognised those faces.

'Hehe, remember us?'

'Of course. Biggs and Wedge, how could I ever forget you two.'

* * *

Irvine took cover as gunfire slammed around him. Unlike the ones Selphie was facing, these soldiers were armed with standard combat rifles, spewing hot lead at Irvine. He could make out six of them positioned at strategic locations, all well placed to gun him down. He had to make a move.

He dashed out from behind the wall, gunfire closely following his footsteps. He took a pot shot at a soldier who lifted his head just a bit too high; the powerful blast from the Exeter wiped his head off from the face of existence. Irvine wasn't a trained dead shot, he was born one. His accuracy was unnerving, none could come close to the skill he had. The soldiers noticed it and they took a more careful approach.

Irvine suddenly recalled blue blood being splattered as he blasted the soldier's head off. He doubted what he had just seen; a moment ago the soldier he had killed had normal blood like everyone else. Something wasn't right, it compounded to the uneasiness he had felt earlier.

Irvine stopped moving, in fact there was no need to move, no one was shooting at him. The whole place had turned quiet. He quickly surveyed the area for any movement, it was impossible that the soldiers he was fighting disappeared into thin air just like that.

Finally he spotted the five soldiers he was fighting against, their two dead comrades on their backs. They had slipped past Irvine and were at the docks where Selphie was. 'How the hell did they get there so fast?' Irvine was about to pursue the soldiers when three of them took out something from their hovercraft stationed at the docks. They all came out armed with rocket launchers. Without hesitation all three missiles were fired at Irvine.

Time seemed to stop as the missiles approached Irvine. Irvine roughly had three to four seconds before the missiles reached him, but that was all he needed. He was trained to be able to make shots in seconds, one after the other without stopping at electrifying speeds. Already his shotgun was raised, he made full junctions to Hit percent, increasing his accuracy to great precision and fired the first shot. As the missile exploded, Irvine had already cocked his shotgun and fired the second shot at the other missile. Irvine fired his last shot at the final missile with it being less than a hundred metres away. Instead of exploding, the missile separated into four smaller projectiles, his shot scraping past and missing the missile.

It was a Hellbringer missile, able to target up to four separate targets. It was considered overkill to be used on a single target. Apparently they wanted Irvine dead pretty badly. He didn't have time left to take out the remaining four projectiles that were zeroing into his position at and even faster speed. His mind raced for possible solutions, while his arm instinctively slipped special ammo from beneath his coat into his Exeter.

* * *

The powerful explosion sent shockwaves all the way to the dock. Selphie immediately knew who was being targeted.

'IRVINE!'

'Probably dead. Haven't heard of anyone escaping three Hellbringers.'

'Bastard! You'll pay for this!'

Selphie charged at the SE leader. Biggs easily parried her first few attacks with his baton; he was a very different Biggs compared to the one she had known. He fought just as well as Selphie, matching her speed and strength, which was not possible as Selphie had GF junctions with her; she could sense none from Biggs. But she couldn't care less, still angered by the death of Irvine, she attacked Biggs ferociously.

Biggs took advantage of Selphie's rage; grabbing hold of the chain of her weapon, he tugged her towards him, kneeing her in the gut. Selphie responded with an elbow into his face. He staggered backwards from the blow, but before Selphie could unleash any more blows, he flung her towards the floor. She crashed to the ground but quickly got up and pounced at Biggs. She pinned him down and went for his neck, using her nunchaku to crush it. Instead of gasping for air, he smiled at Selphie. A blow crashed hardly onto her head, sending her falling to a side. That blow would have crushed a person's skull; Selphie was aided by junctions that reinforced her bones and made her stronger, but still the blow left her dazed. She struggled to get up, only to receive a kick in her belly. She crashed into a wall metres away, coughing out blood in the process. Seeing Selphie's weakened state, Biggs was no doubt pleased with himself.

'Not the same Biggs am I?'

'I crushed your neck, you shouldn't even be alive.' Coughed Selphie weakly. She wondered how she was going to defeat Biggs, let alone the entire squad of soldiers in her current state.

'Ah you see, I'm not the normal weak Galbadian soldier you used to know, or the temporarily enhanced soldiers that you just fought. I'm "Augmented".'

Selphie got up and positioned herself in a defensive stance, ready to fight to the death. There was no point talking to him, no amount of talk would bring back Irvine. She just wanted to cause as much damage before she went down.

'Still in the mood for more fighting? I'm not. Wedge, take her out. Carry all the dead into the ship. We're leaving.'

Selphie charged at the retreating Biggs, but she was stopped by Wedge. She thrust her nunchaku at him, but Wedge blocked with his baton. She quickly administered a swift kick to his face. Wedge staggered backwards, but clearly he had also been augmented judging by his toughness. Selphie followed up with two quick punches, Wedge staggered backwards even more, and Selphie slammed her nunchaku into his face. He suddenly sidestepped and caught her weapon, a strong punch into her stomach came next. Wedge had intentionally given Selphie the advantage initially, so as to expose her to attacks. After a few more jabs, he crashed his elbow hard at the back of her neck. Selphie slumped to the ground, just as Wedge took out a needle and jabbed into her neck. K2 agent; upon injection, it immediately depresses the central nervous system, rendering the victim unconscious for 24 hours. He lifted the unconscious Selphie and headed for the hovercraft.

Their mission was complete.


	5. Dragon

**Chapter 5 : Dragon**

Quistis and the other SeeD personnel headed back to the command centre. Immediately, Nida went up to Quistis. 'Reports of soldiers sighted at Balamb Town. We have reason to believe that they are of SE origin. A few squads of cadets have left to investigate on this. Lieutenants Irvine and Selphie have already proceeded to Balamb Town earlier.'

'They went alone?' Quistis smelled a trap; it wasn't SE's style to come out into the open.

'They told a cadet that they will take care of things. As soon as the cadet reported back to his superiors relayed back to us, we immediately sent backup.'

'We have a more urgent crisis at hand. The breach by unknown assailants moments ago has resulted in the capture of Sorceress Rinoa and left many Garden personnel dead or injured. Xu, run the scan. Nida, see if you can give me a lock on any distortion through space-time. Those assailants left through a portal, I don't know how but just give me possible locations. We need leads fast! Move it people, we've got work to do!' Quistis shouted out the orders fast and quick.

The entire command centre was buzzing with activity. Quistis slumped into her seat, thinking about the events that had just occurred. The attack had hit Garden hard, SeeD personnel were working double hard to contain the damage caused, ensuring that security was tight, heightening everyone to be on alert status, issuing commands with urgency. Garden hadn't been so vulnerable in years.

'I've run the scan, results are negative.' Xu was quick to the task as usual.

Quistis sighed. 'It was expected. Let's just hope Nida can give us some good news.'

Headmaster Cid came into the Command Centre. Quistis got up and went to him. 'I heard about the attack. What's the current situation?'

'It's bad. I don't know whether we can get Rinoa back.'

'These are tough times.' He placed a reassuring hand onto her shoulders. 'We have to be strong.'

Quistis nodded. 'Let's just hope the day doesn't get any worse.'

* * *

Irvine rose slowly from the ground, still dazed at what just happened. He had slipped in a round of Demolition ammo he had into Exetor. Just as the four Hellbringer missiles where about to hit their target, Irvine leapt up and fired into the ground. They called it "Rocket Jump", something only the crazy boys back in Galbadia Garden had dared one another to do; one could easily lose his legs doing such a stunt. The explosion caused by the Demolition ammo created a shockwave powerful enough to hurl Irvine away, split seconds before the missiles exploded at the area where he was previously. Hellbringer missiles were heat-seeking, hence their attraction to the explosion instead of Irvine, whereas he was propelled far away from the death zone, crashing into a building which signalled the end of his mini flying experience.

His GF enhanced abilities quickly brought him back to his senses; he got up and rushed back to the docks, in time to see Selphie being carried into the hovercraft. The world came crashing down on Irvine; they were abducting Selphie right in front of his eyes! He fired repeatedly at the hovercraft, but was too far away to deal any damage. The hovercraft sped away even before he could come close. His knees crashed to the ground, he slammed his fists angrily at the floor, screaming out his frustration and anger.

At the same time, three Garden Armoured All-Terrain vehicles arrived at the scene. Cadets streamed out of the vehicles, followed by a SeeD member. They quickly surveyed the damaged area they were in, looking out for any survivors. The SeeD immediately recognized Irvine and went to him.

'What happened?' There was worry in his voice.

'SE. They were here.' Irvine replied blankly.

'Are you all right Lieutenant? You seem to have sustained minor injuries.'

The SeeD was right; after the missile scare he had just went through, he was a very lucky man to come out with just minor injuries. But more important things were running in Irvine's head.

'Patch me a line back the Garden HQ immediately.'

* * *

'Vice-Commander, there is a transmission for you. Lieutenant Irvine is on the line.'

'Patch him through.'

Irvine's voice sounded loud and clear for everyone in the room. 'Quistis, SE fucked us up big time. They came real prepared. We…'

'It's ok Irvine. Get back to Garden immediately. We have important issues at hand.'

'Damn it Quistis! Listen to me. They got Selphie! They left in a hovercraft; we can still catch them in time if we act now!'

Quistis couldn't believe what she had just heard. Another capture, this time by SE. She was nearing her wits end. Many members who were present in the room all bore shocked faces; another crisis had just hit them even before the first one could be solved.

'Come on Quistis, what are you waiting for? We need a strike team to search for Selphie now! Give me and answer!' The impatience in Irvine was clearly evident and reaching breaking point.

'You listen to me Irvine!' Qusitis blew her top. 'We have other problems at hand. Unknown enemies had just attacked Garden and they captured Rinoa. We're stretched too thin to attempt two rescue missions! What kind answer do you expect me to give you!'

Irvine was silent. He was clearly shocked by the new information he had just received.

It was Headmaster Cid who finally spoke. 'We will send a strike team to search for Selphie. Quistis will head the strike team while Irvine will be second in command. You will each be given a squad of fifty SeeDs. I will contact the Dollet Navy for assistance. The team will leave in the Assault Hovercrafts in twenty minutes. Irvine, wait at the docks for further orders.'

'Irvine, out.' The other end went dead after a while.

Quistis couldn't believe what had just happened. Apparently Cid had decided to abandon the search for Rinoa.

'What is the meaning of this Headmaster? What about Rinoa?' Quistis sounded her disapproval.

'We have a better chance of saving Selphie than Rinoa. It is the logical choice.' Cid replied in a calm tone.

'That's absurd. I will not abandon anyone. I'm not following that order.' Quistis gave Cid an unwavering stare.

'If my memory serves me right, the Vice-Commander does not have the power to veto the Headmaster.' There was a distinct authoritative tone in his words.

The entire command centre filled with silence. Quistis and Headmaster Cid was the centre of attraction. This was not a common sight, it was unthinkable that this would even happen, the Garden chain of command was about to collapse at any moment. Both Quistis and Cid locked gazes, both eyeing one another with a strong and determined gaze, refusing to back down. After what seemed like an eternity, Quistis broke the stare and gave Cid a curt nod.

'The strike team will leave ASAP.' She called out the names of SeeDs who were to form the strike team. They assembled with quick efficiency and left the room.

Cid sighed as Quistis left the room. It had been a difficult decision to make, but he had to do it. Quistis was clearly not in the right frame of mind to be making any form of logical decision. He had to do what was right.

'What do we do now Headmaster?' Xu asked. The Command Centre was only left with a few SeeD members, most had left with Quistis.

'Ask Nida to speed up and trace out possible locations where Rinoa might be.' Cid had regained his usual calm demeanour.

'But who's going to lead the rescue mission?' Xu was clearly surprised by the Headmaster's words. Just moments ago, it looked as though he had long given up hope on saving Rinoa.

There was a slight smile on his face. 'I already have someone in mind.'

* * *

'Headmaster, the Ragnarok has just passed our borders.'

'Good. Attempt to establish contact.'

Krall had been waiting for Squall's arrival. The Commander was indeed true to his word. He had come as promised. The Ragnarok had arrived less than half an hour after Krall himself had reached Trabia Garden. It seemed the Commander wanted the job to be done as soon as possible so that he could rush back for the summit. However, Krall was confident that it wouldn't be possible.

'Negative sir. We are out of range. It's not heading for Trabia Garden. Its going straight into the mountains.'

'What? The hell does Leonhart thinks he's doing?' Headmaster Krall watched the monitor indicate the flight path taken by the Ragnarok. It was heading towards the mountains, the place where the White Dragon was being sighted.

'That idiot! So he thinks he can find the dragon all by himself? Our scouts spent weeks and all they could get were just pictures. If Leonhart thinks that he's god and can do everything without our help, he's going to be damn wrong!' Krall was seething with anger, angered by Squall's obvious disregard for Trabia Garden.

'What do we do sir?'

'Leave him be. Hope he rots in the snow.'

* * *

'We've reached our destination Commander.'

Squall got up from his seat. 'What's your name?'

The pilot was startled by the Commander's sudden question. 'It's Eric, sir.'

'Prepare to leave this place once I get back. I'll keep in touch with you through my transceiver. If anything happens, leave immediately without me.'

Squall immediately went for the exit. Just as he was about to exit, he looked back at the pilot, who had been looking at him all the time. 'Watch your back Eric.'

Without waiting for a reply, he left the cockpit. Immediately the cold Trabia winds met his face. The howling winds blew through the mountains, creatures of untold terror stayed in these areas that were desolate of humans. Squall himself was unsure of his mission; everything was not going according to planned. He was initially supposed to meet up with Headmaster Krall and discuss more on what action to take regarding the White Dragon. Yet a boy was leading him to some unknown location in the vast Trabia Continent.

The reason was simple, that boy knew something, and it concerned Rinoa. He knew something had happened; he had tried a few times in the Ragnarok but he just couldn't feel her through their bond anymore. Squall feared some calamity had befallen Rinoa. His hope now lies with a boy whom he had no idea how he was going to find.

The place was familiar to him, he was now exactly at the place where the boy had shown to his mind. He walked on, the cold wind impeding his movement, all the while hoping that monsters wouldn't besiege him. Time was of essence, he didn't want to waste any time finding the boy, the sooner the better. He started his hike up the mountain, leaving the Ragnarok at the foot of the mountain. The road up hadn't been smooth sailing, it was a treacherous path. The ground was loose on many occasions, rock and snow suddenly giving way. Squall was forced to be ready at all times, leaping to safety whenever the ground gave way. The path was steep, but Squall persevered, he had a goal in mind and he wasn't going to give up.

After almost and hour, he finally reached the peak of the mountain. The sight was breathtaking; the entire Trabia plains lay before him, the mountains all covered in pure white snow while the sun shone with a sombre hue of pale purple. Squall gave himself a few moments to bask in the phenomenal view that was presented to him.

All of a sudden, clouds appeared, blocking the sunlight and surrounded the mountain he was standing. He was shrouded by thick fog and mist, it was impossible to see further than a metre. The ground below him suddenly gave way. Reacting to instinct, he unsheathed his Lion Heart immediately, plunging it into the sides of the mountain to stop his descent to the unknown depths. Yet the snow was too soft to provide any form of hindrance for braking, the Lion Heart sliced through the snow like cake. Just when Squall appeared to be falling to his doom, the slope decreased in incline, slowing Squall's fall dramatically. His fall turned into a slide, eventually reaching flat ground. Squall stood up; he was still alive but he wondered how many more threats awaited him.

He was in a huge crater within the mountains. What surprised Squall was how was the crater not spotted by anyone. It appears that some form of powerful magic had been keeping it concealed; one had to set foot at the area to break the illusion. At that moment, the swirling clouds that had gathered started to fade; the crater was becoming visible to Squall. It was a deep sunken pit, and it lay right in front of him! The White Dragon in its full splendour. The creature spotted Squall and spread its wings to stamp its authority. The dragon was even more magnificent than what was being portrayed in the pictures he saw earlier. Its pure white scales seem to glow in the dark pit, its massive body made Bahamut look like its child. It exuded an aura of brilliance, filling the cavern with its presence. Squall continued to stare at the creature in awe; he had never seen a creature so mighty and yet contained so much beauty.

Standing on its hind legs, the dragon moved towards Squall with caution, clearly viewing Squall as a threat.

'We don't need to fight. I just want to talk.' Squall's words were quickly drowned out by the dragon's roar.

This dragon clearly wanted a fight; Squall shall just have to give him one. He drew Lion Heart high up over his head, as if taunting the dragon to strike. The dragon took up the challenge; it lashed out at Squall, its hind legs pushing back, charging forward with tremendous speed and with its jaws poised to rip Squall apart. But Squall was equal to the task; with his GF enhanced abilities, he leapt up just as the dragon head crashed down, landing elegantly on the dragon's back.

As he was about to plunge his gunblade into the dragon, he felt sudden movement from the dragon. It was flying upwards! Squall sensed the direction it was heading; it was going to slam its back against the mountain walls with Squall on it. Squall immediately jumped off from the dragon, breaking into a roll as he landed on the floor. Without missing a beat, the dragon stopped mid-air just as it was about to crash into the wall. With its wings spread full-length, it opened its mouth and charged-up, great swirls of pure energy gathered in front of its jaw. As the ball of energy increased in size, Squall quickly threw a Fire spell into the dragon's face. The spell did nothing more than to itch the great dragon, but it was enough to break the dragon's concentration as the ball of energy suddenly fizzled, erupting with a flash and forcing the dragon to cock its head away to avoid the blast.

Squall grabbed the chance and charged at the dragon; with his inhuman strength, he leapt up 6 metres from the ground and crashed the Lion Heart into its belly in and upward slash, the crystalline blade smashing hard into the white dragon scales.

What would usually have cleaved a monster effortlessly only managed to leave a light wound on the dragon; its dragon scales only cracking slightly as silver blood oozed out of the wound. The white dragon scales were clearly strong armour.

The dragon let out a defiant roar; it wasn't pleased to be hurt by a mere human. Its front claw lashed out at Squall who was vulnerable in air. Squall brought the Lion Heart to parry the attack, but no amount of GF enhancement was going to give him the strength to equal that of a dragon. The force of the attack sent him crashing to the ground hard.

He immediately lifted himself and rolled to the side just as the dragon smashed right at the ground with its weight, missing Squall by a whisker. The resulting impact sent a gigantic shockwave that made the earth tremble. Blade met with claw as Squall deflected a powerful claw swipe directed at him; the dragon sent attacks at Squall's direction with rapid succession. Deflecting the first attack on his right, another swipe was already approaching from the left. Using all his might, Squall deflected the attacks one by one with his gunblade, blocking right and left, then right again; repeating this process for a few times. It seemed to him that the dragon was toying with him, slowly tiring its prey.

Squall's body shuddered at the consecutive attacks; even with all his junctioned abilities, he was still a human. He made a roll avoiding another slash directed at his side. Seeing that it had missed its target, the dragon slammed its other claw on the ground, leaving a large dent that would have crushed bones had Squall not evaded just in time.

Squall quickly got to his feet and kicked off from the ground with great strength. Diving for the dragon's leg, he plunged his gunblade deep into it. This time it roared in pain, sweeping its wing at Squall before he could even pull out his weapon. The gunblade came out of the wound as Squall was slapped into a wall, crashing into it hard. Cracks appeared indicating the force of that swipe.

The dragon lunged at Squall. Its claw crashed down hard; Squall made a mental thought, shifting around with his junctions. Junctioning his strongest magic to strength, he swung his Lion Heart upwards with incredible force. The dragon's attack was blocked and knocked aside; the dragon was clearly surprised at its foe's sudden increase in strength. Squall leapt up and with two hands holding the Lion Heart firmly, he come down with an overhead chop, slashing firmly into the lower part of the dragon's neck. Squall remained hanging there as the Lion Heart sunk in deep and was caught firm between flesh and scale. A claw reached out and tried to grab for Squall, but already anticipating it, he swung himself upwards with support from his gunblade and pulled the trigger.

The Lion Heart was no ordinary gunblade. Forged with Estharian technology, its crystalline blade reinforced by adamantine and enhanced with fangs of a dragon, giving the blade a regenerative power thus maintaining its lethality. The powerful weapon also contains the deadly pulse ammo stored in the gun section of the weapon. Each release of the trigger fires the ammo, charging up the Lion Heart and unleashes a powerful shockwave of raw energy from the ammo that erupts from the gunblade, The result, a lethal one.

Upon releasing the trigger, a blinding flash erupted from the Lion Heart. Squall was thrown into the air by the resulting blast as the gunblade tore free of the dragon, scales and flesh scattering in all directions. The dragon made a deafening roar as blood poured down its neck wound. The dragon was unprepared for that attack; a huge gaping wound now ran down its neck, smoke rising from its bright silver flesh that was now visible to the eye.

Squall came down right on top of the dragon's back; his Lion Heart glowed with a blue swirling flame, still super-charged by the release of pulse ammo. He gave the dragon a few quick slashes, silver blood sprayed forth as the Lion Heart sliced through effortlessly. The dragon roared in pain and raised itself up, forcing Squall off its back. As Squall got up from his roll, he saw the dragon readying its tail for a counter, but Squall could feel that the dragon's movements have slowed down; evidently it had been weakened greatly.

As the dragon's tail swung towards Squall, he readied himself. Timing his jump perfectly, he leapt over the tail and just as the tail passed him, he jabbed his gunblade hard into the tail. He quickly pulled the gunblade out just as the dragon flung its tail wildly in pain, hoping to throw Squall off.

Squall charged at the injured dragon and slashed at its belly ferociously. The dragon's jaw came crashing down at Squall who calmly replied by jabbing the Lion Heart deep into its belly and pulled the trigger for a second time. A thunderous boom followed as silver blood spattered everywhere. Huge chunks of flesh tore out from the dragon as it lifted its head and groaned in pain; it was in no condition to continue fighting. It covered the large whole at its belly with its two clawed arms and finally slumped weakly to the ground with a crashing thud.

Squall stood in front of the dragon, looking right into its eyes. He was covered in silver blood and was in a bloody mess. The dragon no longer seemed the powerful entity it was just moments ago, it now lay at Squall's mercy.

'Finish me off.' The dragon spoke for the first time.

'I told you I'm not here to fight. I came to get your word that you will not harm anyone.' Squall tried talking sense to the dragon that seemed keen on dying.

'Kill me and I won't be able to harm anyone.' The dragon growled in pain.

'I don't kill unnecessarily.'

A clapping sound was heard. Squall turned around to find the mysterious boy. 'Well done Squall, you passed the test.'

The dragon suddenly rose. It seemed to have recovered much of its energy within a short period of time. 'You delayed my breath attacks, if not I would have won.' The dragon sounded its bitterness at being defeated.

'No matter what, you have to admit he's good.' The dragon kept quiet. It was clear it respected its opponent, not only at his skills, but also for showing mercy towards it.

'Can you tell me what the hell is going on? I've made it all the way here and I think you owe me an explanation.' Squall interrupted, his patience clearly wearing thin.

The boy turned to Squall and said, 'You now reside in my tomb, it has been guarded by my protector Kamui, the great White Dragon ever since the Centra War.'

'So why the hell am I here? I don't see what purpose it is to involve me in some war which has happened ages ago.'

'The Balance has been unsettled. You are the chosen one who can remove the seal to bring me back.' The boy uttered calmly.

'Why should I remove your seal? Whoever locked you in there did it for a reason.'

'The Magi has foreseen this calamity happening. I have been placed here in case that day arrives.'

'That's bullshit. No such calamity has befallen us.' Squall still did not understand a word the boy was saying. He stated everything so matter-of-factly, yet Squall had no idea what he was talking about.

'Squall Leonhart, every moment you waste shifts the Balance further towards the favour of the Triumvirate. You know why you are here.'

The boy was right; Squall knew why he was here. He was here because of Rinoa, he had lost Rinoa through their bond and the boy knew something. 'Fine, what do I have to do?'

Without a word, the boy turned around and led Squall to a door with carvings on it. A circle with the letter M was found on the door. As he was about to ask the boy what to do next, the apparition had long disappeared and was nowhere to be found. Squall didn't know what made him do it, but his hand instinctively reached out and touched the sign. The stone was cold to the touch, but immediately it started to glow. White light seem to magically shine through the solid stone and soon, the entire door disappeared as the bright light engulfed the door. It looked as though a walkway through heaven had formed right in front of him.

A figure stepped out. It was the boy; he was exactly like how Squall had envisioned him, which puzzled Squall even further. How was a boy like that going to save the world from impending doom?

'Much has to be done, Squall Leonhart. We are already behind time.' There was clear anxiety in his face, but Squall wanted answers.

'It's about time you tell me what happened to Rinoa. Why can't I feel her through our bond anymore? How can you feel that she is alive while I can't?' The anxiety was clear in Squall's tone.

'You feel her through her magic powers. If her powers are cut off, so is the bond. I can feel people's life force. I assure you she is still alive.' The boy's face momentarily darkened; Squall caught that queer look and immediately pressed on further.

'Where is she? What happened to her? What are you hiding from me? Tell me now!' Squall could no longer control his anger and the worry that had welled up within him all the while. He grabbed the boy's shoulders roughly demanding an answer. However the boy looked impassive.

'I have answered enough of your questions. We both have important tasks awaiting us.'

'You know why I came here, yet you refuse to help me although I have released you. You're a bastard.' Squall spat at the boy angrily.

'You don't understand. You can't help her in anyway. I don't know where she is, but I can sense she is in grave danger.'

Squall collapsed to the ground. He felt weak and useless; unable to protect the one he loved although she was in grave danger. The boy crouched down and looked straight at Squall.

'Listen to me Squall Leonhart; this is no time to grief. Rinoa's fate lies in the hands of your friend while you are entrusted with the task of saving your father.'

'You mean Laguna? How do you know all this?'

'It is the Balance. I only know what I have to know, the rest is up to fate to decide. I have other things to do. Be strong Squall Leonhart, time is not on our side. We can only pray that luck is.' The boy started to fade and disappeared in front of Squall.

'What the…' Squall stared blankly. 'I thought he's alive again? Why can he still fade in and out?'

'It's his powers.' It was the dragon Kamui. 'You have to leave now. We don't have much time.'

'How am I going to get out of this crater?'

'I can fly you out. If you'd notice, my wounds have largely healed.' Indeed, moments ago the dragon was seriously injured, silver blood splattered all over it. Yet now, most of its wounds have closed up and the bleeding had stopped. The regenerative powers of the White Dragon were beyond anything Squall had ever seen.

Squall quickly climbed onto the back of the dragon. Up till now, Squall still had no idea what evil was he up against. Everything he had been dealing with was unthinkable, from the boy to his premonitions of doom. He was being led without a clear direction. It seemed as though Laguna was in some sort of trouble and Squall has been chosen to be his saviour.

The dragon took flight and started to soar out of the crater. It was only then when Squall realized he still did not know the boy's name. As though reading his mind, the boy answered his question in his head.

'My name is Shinji. Good luck, Squall Leonhart.'

* * *

'What's our status?' It was a cold and harsh tone, one that was commonly heard from the SE leader, Hojo.

'The operation at Balamb was a success. We have the specimen. She is on her way back to headquarters. How about the package?'

'We have it at base. We have managed to harness a specimen that is ready for testing.'

'Only for testing? I want something I can use in the field.'

Hojo glared at the man. His clothing suited a clown, with bright coloured patches. However there was no doubting the evilness that ran in his veins. 'We just got that thing back. I need more tests to ensure that it works.'

'No need for testing. My commando team will be launching the attack soon. I'm taking whatever you have.'

'Kefka! Don't push it. I won't accept failure.'

'Relax Hojo, I don't either.' Kefka turned and left, leaving Hojo burning with rage. Kefka never failed to annoy Hojo with his constant demands on speeding things up. Hojo was patient and meticulous while Kefka was the exact opposite. But Kefka and Hojo both produced the same things at the end of the day, results. And that was all that mattered to Hojo. He would let his Commander have everything he wanted, as long as results were produced at the end. Hojo placed Kefka aside as he went back to think through the plans that they were about to execute.


	6. Demise

**Chapter 6 : Demise**

'You're telling me they warped in and warped out of Garden, kidnapping Rinoa in the process.'

'Yes, and Garden is short on personnel. We need your help Seifer.'

Seifer looked at the Headmaster. He wanted to help save Rinoa, but he was afraid. He hadn't picked up a weapon or junctioned himself to any GF for two years. It had taken a lot of courage to combat his desires, putting down what he was best at and conquering his greed and hunger for power. The last thing he wanted was for the arrogant Seifer to come back and haunt him, destroying the friends around him once more. He had thought about the day when he was ready to pick up Hyperion again, however he didn't expect that day to come so fast. It seemed he had no choice. He had to battle his own inner demons himself.

'But what about Garden? Who's left to protect this place?'

'We still have a few SeeD personnel left. And once we can re-establish contact with Zell back in Garden premises, Garden should be safe.'

'That chicken-wuss, going AWOL when Garden needs him.' Seifer stood up and walked to the window. 'So that means I'm reinstated back into Garden's forces?'

Hearing this, Cid chuckled. 'I have always considered you a part of SeeD, albeit an unofficial one.'

'Then I don't see why I'm being asked to help Garden.' He smiled at Cid. 'It is the duty of SeeD to protect and rescue fellow Garden members.'

'I'm glad to hear you say that Seifer.' A heavy load seemed to have been relieved from Cid.

'Sorry Headmaster. I need a few minutes on my own. I will assemble in the Command Centre ASAP.'

Cid nodded understandingly and left Seifer's room. Seifer let out a long regretful sigh; it seemed the day had finally come. He took out a weapon case below his bed. As he opened the case, it stared straight at him. In it was a long sleek gunblade, perfectly weighted from tip to handle, its sharpened edge tipped in bright yellow, the rest of the weapon was a metallic grey. Hyperion; his faithful gunblade, a weapon which had served him well, a weapon which had defeated many of his foes, a weapon which had shed countless of innocent lives. Was he ready to relive this harsh memory one more time? He braced himself one more time as he drawed out magic and his GF, Cerberus from the magic storage pouch in his weapon case. The hell hound; proud, arrogant and brutal, was a spectre of Seifer's past. He felt the increase in strength, the heightened senses, the quicker speed; it only meant one thing, more power. It was this lust for power that had driven Seifer down the wrong path. It was time to set things right.

* * *

Two hours. They had scoured the ocean for two hours, yet nothing was found. They had vanished without a trace.

'Goddamn it! Where the hell did they go?' Irvine was clearly frustrated. He paced up and down the Assault Hovercraft, all the while hoping for good news to reach him.

Upon knowing off Selphie's abduction, the Balamb strike team had immediately set off. The Dollet Navy was also informed, taking action by increasing the number of patrol ships on duty and spreading out to cover a 300 km radius. A special radar net was also established to detect the SE hovercraft. Yet they found nothing; even with current cloaking technology, it wouldn't be that simple to escape the radar net. Everyone was baffled at how the SE hovercraft could just disappear into thin air. Now, the Balamb strike team were still in their Assault Hovercrafts, the SeeD unit getting more and more impatient as time slowly ticked past.

Quistis was puzzled herself. They were all out at sea doing nothing, unable to make their next move. In simpler terms, they were wasting time. She ran through her mind again, wondering how a hovercraft could just disappear. A hovercraft doesn't have many places to go at sea. Unless….

'I can't take this anymore! I'm here not doing anything while Selphie is in the hands of the enemy. God knows what their doing to her….' Irvine was losing his cool. It was clear he was worried for Selphie; in fact she was the only person he really ever cared for.

'Irvine, are you sure that was a hovercraft you saw.' Quistis suddenly popped him a question.

'Huh? What do you mean?' Irvine's face frowned with puzzlement.

'I'm asking whether you're 100 percent sure you saw a hovercraft.'

'Of course it's a hovercraft. It had the latest anti-propulsion fins that hovercrafts have and….' He stopped suddenly. He had been blinded by rage that he had completely overlooked it. As the hovercraft was escaping the Balamb docks, he saw two magnetic turbine generators.

'Shit! That thing is a convertible, they went underwater!' Irvine's latest revelation confirmed Quistis suspicions.

'Inform the Dollet Navy now! I want an underwater transport, and tell them to start searching underwater.' The technician quickly scrambled to work upon Quistis orders.

'Sorry Quistis. I'm just not in the right frame of mind. My mind's a total mess ever since they captured Selphie. It's my fault that those bastards have a two-hour head start. I can never forgive myself if we….' He buried his face in his hands.

'It's all right Irvine. We will get her back. What I need you to do now is to calm down and stay focused on the mission. We've got some SE butt to kick.' Quistis spoke in a reassuring tone.

Irvine got back to his chair; he covered his head with his brown hat. He needed some time to focus and get back to his usual self. Quistis didn't blame Irvine's sudden irrational behaviour; she had experienced it herself moments ago. Although Irvine was currently an emotional wreck, she had faith that the sharpshooter would be able to get back on his feet. He was much stronger than that. They were on to a new lead and she was confident of catching the SE bastards. If they had gone underwater, there was only one place they could have gone to. This time, they were not going to get away.

* * *

'Headmaster, the Ragnarok is leaving!'

Krall walked over to the technician. The Ragnarok was indeed leaving Trabia's borders. Could it be that he had already found the White Dragon and had solved the problem in barely five hours? It was unthinkable. Yet there was no news from Squall, not a word. 'Leave him be. He'll be responsible if anything crops up.'

Krall went back to his seat and the short meeting with the man re-enacted into his head again.

'You certain the Commander himself has left Garden?'

'Of course, he gave me his word.'

'Very good, that would aid our mission. You have done well.'

'So what benefits do I get? You promised….'

'Isn't the destruction of the other two Gardens what you want?'

Krall remained silent. This man was suggesting the impossible, yet he knew things! Everything he said had turned true and now he was about to fulfil Krall's wish.

'Very soon my servant; the longer you delay the Commander in Trabia, the faster your wish will come true.'

Those were the last words the little man had said to him. He wondered whether he had bought enough time, but judging by the man's confident tone, it didn't really matter. He smiled to himself as he went on to dream about the day when he was the supreme leader of Garden and its elite force, when Trabia Garden were to rise above its other two neighbours, and gone were the likes of meddlesome people like Squall and his band of merry men.

* * *

'So they are the so-called allies you have been talking about?' Claudius whispered to Rosencrantz. He was clearly unimpressed by the two men in front of him. Although the room was dimly lit, Claudius managed to make out their features. One was short like Rosencrantz, a weak man in his opinion. The other was a total joke. Dressed in bright colours, with white and red paint on his face, he resembled more of a court jester than a warrior.

'Relax my brother, they command forces which will aid us in our quest. Let me do the talking.' Rosencrantz immediately got down to business.

'I believe you have good news to give me?' He sounded domineering.

'Our preparations are almost complete. The Pandora's Stone has been recovered, we have captured one of the six, and we are ready to strike the next target, which is….'

'There has been a change of plans.' Rosencrantz interrupted Hojo, who was obviously displeased. He wasn't used to being interrupted while he spoke, but in front of this man, it was wiser to listen and speak only when told. Rosencrantz spoke of his new plan.

'A frontal assault?' Hojo spoke disbelievingly after he heard what Rosencrantz said.

'I have everything planned out. We must move fast before the Balance comes into play. We still have the advantage, and I plan to make full use of it. Listen to me carefully.'

Rosencrantz carefully laid out his plan in further detail. Kefka was squirming with delight; the idea had made him extremely excited, even Hojo seemed convinced.

'Yes yes, it might just work.'

'It will definitely work. You dare to doubt our god?' Claudius spoke for the first time in the meeting. His spoke the words smoothly, but there was something in his tone that was threatening. It struck fear into the two men as they felt a malicious evil emanated from Claudius. Rosencrantz immediately broke off the tension that was building up.

'We must not waste anymore time. Let us commence our plans and to our success!'

* * *

'How long was it since we last did something like this?'

'I can't remember. I'm getting old.'

'Nonsense brother, you're only five yours older than me. Are you hinting that I'm old?' Ophelia stared at Rosencrantz with menacing eyes.

Rosencrantz only laughed. Ophelia had used a great deal of her powers to maintain her youthful appearance, but there was no use denying their age. Their war had been waged for centuries, longer than any of them could ever remember.

'Stop bickering, the two of you.' Claudius stepped in. He was used to seeing his younger siblings squabble over the slightest things. 'Are you ready for the summon Ophelia? Have your injuries healed?'

Ophelia nodded softly. The last battle with Rinoa had dented her confidence immensely; she was actually forced to use her true powers to battle against the young sorceress and was even injured in the process. She vowed never to submit herself to such embarrassment again.

It was a small space within the Centra ruins. The place reeked with filth and stench, intensified by the great evils that gathered. A hole was located at the roof, with light shining down into the middle of the room. They were located far away from civilization, perfect for carrying out what they were planning to do.

'Then let us start the ceremony.' Claudius raised his hands as purple energy streaked out. Rosencrantz and Ophelia followed suit, green and blue energy appeared respectively. The energy gathered in the middle of the three as they stood spread out in a circle. It glowed brighter and brighter till a voice was suddenly heard.

'My loyal servants, you require my powers?'

'Yes my lord. We are prepared to strike.'

'Prepared to strike? AND HOW LONG MORE MUST I WAIT!' The voice suddenly boomed with anger, the energy that had gathered suddenly contorted violently with rage.

'Very soon my lord, very soon.' Rosencrantz quickly added to stop their god from further anger.

After a long pause, the voice sounded again. 'Very well, I trust your words.'

The sphere grew larger and larger as more energy was being pumped into it. A blinding flash of light shot upwards from the sphere into the sky, the beam of light parted clouds and seemed to cut through the air. The bright flash of white was replaced with a pillar of darkness and death. It was a sign that the portal was open. Now all they had to do was to sustain the portal as destruction rained down on their unlucky target.

* * *

Shinji crashed to the ground, grabbing his chest with his arm as the sudden pain poured through him. The Balance was his essence, and it seemed as though it had just wildly swung in the Triumvirate's favour.

'The Triumvirate Portal of Death.' He said softly to himself. It appeared that they had wasted no time. He wondered whether he would be in time to stop their madness. Shinji quickly got up and ignored the throbbing pain; he had to hurry to stop the Triumvirate. He had done it once 320 years ago; he was going to do it again.

* * *

Headmaster Vinche sat in his office that overlooked the entire Garden compound, enjoying himself. It was a kingly sight; mythical statues were found on the grounds of the Garden, giving the Garden a slight gothic feel yet the highly polished reddish-orange tiles on the buildings and the floor, the vast amounts of machinery found within the compounds showed the high-tech era the garden was in; greenery decorated the Garden at specific spots with the golden foils of the Garden hovering and rotating around the large compound magically. The science behind it eluded Vinche, but to him it didn't matter. Cadets were training with strict conduct and obedience, following their instructors' orders and teachings. SeeDs carried out their orders with strict efficiency. It was the kind of obedience that he wanted and liked.

Galbadia Garden was his pride. Right after the Sorceress War, he had immediately re-introduced the strict code of conduct and virtues that Galbadia Garden once had, training a group of new cadets who were disciplined and highly proficient. He stressed the importance of technology, bringing in both Estharian technology and coupled with Galbadian's own unique technology. The result was nurturing a group of SeeDs who were at the cutting edge, with advanced equipment that few came close to rivalling them. The new generation of Galbadian SeeDs were highly regarded and sought after by military organisations all around the world, well known for their efficiency and ability. And it was all his great work.

He suddenly noticed a change in the sky. Clouds had gathered out of nowhere, the sky turned ominously dark, lightning bolts thundered in the clouds. 'Just a passing storm…' Vinche thought to himself. He suddenly saw objects flying out of the dark clouds. On closer inspection, they were flying monsters that weren't of Galbadian origin. One or two appeared initially, more followed suit but Vinche got out of his seat immediately when he saw a swarm charging through the clouds.

An officer came into his room at the same time. His face comprised of horror and fright. 'Monsters! Everywhere! They… They just appeared from nowhere!'

Vinche quickly looked down at the Garden courtyard; the sight that lay before him was terrible. Monsters of all sorts flooded Garden; Iron Giants, Chimeras, Malboros, Blue Dragons and hordes of Thrustaevis flooded his sight. The majestic sight that lay before him just moments ago was now replaced with a horrible battlefield. Monsters continued to appear out of nowhere, purple portals materializing suddenly out of thin air only to unveil a new monster stepping out of the portal. Galbadian SeeDs and cadets fought the monsters bravely, but the sheer amount of monsters only meant that it was a matter of time before it became a massacre.

'Get me Balamb Garden! Galbadia, Dollet, Timber, anyone! We need help now!' Vinche was palpitating with fear. Galbadia Garden seemed to be doomed by the looks of things if help didn't arrive anytime soon.

* * *

Zell had just arrived back at Garden, his mind fully preoccupied with the encounter he had with the mysterious dark knight. It took a while for him to notice that his transceiver was beeping ferociously. Zell was shocked to find a total of 17 missed calls and a whole lot more of messages. Over the past few hours, it appears that he was very needed by Garden.

It wasn't long before Zell had been thoroughly briefed by Headmaster Cid. He hung his head in embarrassment. 'Sorry Headmaster, I shouldn't have left Garden. I'm partly to blame for what has happened. If I had stayed back, things might have turned out very differently. Rinoa would never have been captured.'

'Nobody's to blame Zell. We just have to hope that Rinoa and Selphie can get back safely.' Cid tried to reassure the fighter.

Xu suddenly rushed in with a grim expression. 'Headmaster, we just received a distress call from Galbadia Garden. It appears that they are under siege and are requesting immediate aid.'

Cid and Zell both looked like they were struck by lightning upon hearing the news. It was one too many shocks to receive all in a day. 'Who's attacking them? Galbadia Garden has many excellent SeeDs at their disposal. Even the SE wouldn't be able to muster and army strong enough to attack them. It would take an entire nations army to lay siege onto them.' Cid sounded his disbelief.

Xu looked as though she doubted her own words. 'Legions of monsters appeared out of nowhere and are attacking them. The attack happened so sudden that they were unable to mount any kind of defence. Armies from Galbadia and Dollet have already been dispatched to Galbadia Garden's aid. From what I gathered through estimates, if the monsters continue coming, it would take at most three hours before Galbadia Garden is completely wiped off the map.'

Zell stood up defiantly. 'We can't let that happen! We gotta help them!'

'We are running short of manpower here Zell. We can't afford to help them and leave Balamb Garden vulnerable to attacks.' Xu was quick to point out some obvious facts that the hotheaded fighter was oblivious to.

'It's all right Xu. I admit we are short of manpower, but we have to help our friends.' Cid made his stand clear. 'Zell will lead a team of SeeDs to assist Galbadia Garden. Their objective would be to clear as many monsters as possible and buy time for the Galbadian Committee to evacuate from the danger zone.'

Xu was about to protest when Cid raised a hand to stop her. 'I've made up my mind. Zell will take our fastest transport there. If all goes well they might be able to reach Galbadia within an hour. We can only hope that it will be enough.'

'I already have two perfect candidates in mind.' Zell immediately got up and rushed off.

* * *

'Can't wait for tomorrow eh?'

Laguna turned back to see Kiros, Ward and Ellone walking up to him. 'Tomorrow's one of those few chances I get to see him Kiros. How can I not be excited?'

'Dun worry, we will all get to see Squall together.' Ellone went next to Laguna and hugged his hand.

They were at the main hangar of the Esthar Airstation, where the Ragnarok-class airship, Raine was currently undergoing maintenance. Raine was Laguna's private airship, named after his beloved wife. He had made it customary to visit his son with this ship every time. The Airstation was a large hangar, easily one of the largest in the world, capable of housing 20 air transports, 35 fighter jets and 5 Ragnarok-class airships. It also served as an airport for aircraft coming from other nations. The hangar resembled a large mountain cavern, except that its walls were polished metal instead of rock. 135 technicians worked round the clock maintaining the aircraft stationed in the Airstation. It was after all, a lot of work as Estharians expected everything to be at its best condition.

Just then, Laguna spotted a few technicians acting weirdly. They seemed preoccupied with themselves, and what made it more suspicious was they appeared to be fixing a machine of some sort, isolating themselves from the rest of the crowd. He was about to approach them when rays of light emitted from the machine they were working on. This immediately attracted the attention from everyone in the hangar. The suspicious technicians backed away from the machine, and jabbed themselves with needles of some sort. One of the technicians started to take off his clothes, revealing a brightly coloured suit. Laguna immediately recognised that man who was on Esthar's top five most-wanted list.

'Damn it, its Kefka! How the hell did he infiltrate my country? Call for security!' Kiros was shouting orders into a microphone in his hands even before Laguna had finished his sentence. The hangar was immediately filling in with Esthar soldiers. Only then did Laguna realize that there were only 4 SE soldiers and Kefka. Surely they didn't think they would be able to launch a successful attempt on his life with this kind of rag-tag army. They must have something up their sleeves.

As if answering Laguna's queries, something started to grow out of the machine. It was growing at such a tremendous speed that within seconds, a horrible monster almost reached the height of the hangar.

Laguna had never seen something like that. A Hydra had just emerged out of that small machine that was placed in the middle of the hangar. It had nine heads; each one bore the frightful head of a dragon. Its body was massive, supporting the nine necks that emerged from it. It was pale green in colour, with black fins decorating the back of its necks. All the troops were stunned at the sight of what lay in front of them; the Hydra was a legend, something that should not exist. Yet now it lay right in front of them.

However the Hydra wasn't shocked by its surroundings. It wasted no time causing destruction; some of its heads ripped down machinery, others shot out powerful blasts of crimson superheated breath, vaporizing Estharian soldiers within seconds. The Hydra was a beast of destruction; nothing stood in its way.

It took them quite a while to quickly regroup and launch a counter-attack against the Hydra. Tens of soldiers fired mercilessly at the Hydra, plasma fire sprayed forth from their rifles. What would usually have subdued a monster seemed to have no apparent effect on the beastly fiend. The Hydra looked more annoyed than injured. It lashed out against the soldiers, powerful blasts from it wiping of the soldiers from existence. Frightened technicians rushed out of the room screaming in fear as the Hydra continued its terrible onslaught.

* * *

'Are you certain it will work?' His voice was filled with doubts.

'Of course it will. We didn't capture all those scientists for nothing.' Hojo replied confidently.

He looked at the fat man beside him. They were some of the dumb men that Hojo hated talking to, but he had no choice. These people always wanted to be briefed about what the SE was planning to do. They were the ones who funded the money; Hojo was obliged to do go through this troublesome process.

'No doubt it was Hans Odine's work that made the breakthrough.'

'A pity he declined to join us. We had to take him in by force.'

'But why did you release them? The number of soldiers we lost to capture them was not a small number, yet we let them go unharmed?'

'They are scientists like me. They are not to be blamed.' Hojo was certain that they wouldn't understand his reasons. He never expected them to understand.

'I must say that I'm still rather sceptical about the Pandora's Stone.'

'The Triumvirate pointed me in the right direction. Years ago, these long forgotten monsters were being trapped, their essence were stored in that stone. Upon release, these monsters will be loyal to us, and help us lay waste to our enemies.'

'But this is the Estharian Army we are talking about? Does one monster stand a chance?' The other sounded his disbelief.

'Of course one monster won't stand a chance. But it can easily throw the entire Estharian Army into chaos for days. A beast with such power does not go down easy.' Hojo spoke with delight and pride.

'Then why can't we just summon an army of these legendary beasts? We could dominate the world with them.'

'Patience for there are other plans for this stone, other more important plans.'

* * *

As soldiers and more powerful machinery were brought into the hangar to deal with the beast, Laguna, Kiros and Ward were quickly escorted out of the scene by the president's elite commando team. They were special Estharian cyborg troops assigned to guard the President. Amidst the chaos, Laguna was practically carried out of the hangar by them via a side exit. Once outside the hangar, he immediately realised that Ellone was not with him. The cyborgs all restrained their President from acting rashly as he tried to get back into the hangar.

'Damn it Kiros! Ward! Ask these cyborg freaks to get off me! I'm not leaving without Ellone.' Laguna grabbed a cyborg's rifle and butted one of them in the face. As the cyborg lost his grip over the President, Laguna managed to break free of their hold, pushing them backwards and charging back into the fray. Kiros and Ward followed suit; Ward grabbed hold of a rifle while Kiros took out his katals handily kept below his robes.

It wasn't difficult to spot a brightly coloured man grabbing hold of Ellone's arm roughly. She seemed to be in pain as Kefka forced her onto a nearby air transport. Fury erupted within Laguna as he immediately let loose a few rounds from his rifle, barely missing Kefka by inches. Kefka let go of Ellone only for the other 4 SE soldiers to forcefully carry her into the transport. It was Laguna, Kiros and Ward against Kefka alone. The Hydra effectively cut off Laguna's cyborg unit from him as the beast had tore down the door that Laguna had entered from.

3 v 1, Laguna thought. The odds were on his side and he planned to abuse this advantage to the fullest. He raised his rifle and fired at Kefka who dodged with ease. Ward followed suit as more plasma was fired at Kefka's direction. However Kefka practically danced his way past the streaming plasma bolts as they whizzed past him harmlessly. It was as though he was mocking the duo.

A sudden movement of Kefka's arm caught the two men's attention. Two deadly throwing knives flew from Kefka's hand. Laguna and Ward immediately brought up their weapons to block the knives. To their surprise, the knives pierced through the weapons instead of bouncing of them, indicating the strength that had thrown those knives. Their opponent was clearly no ordinary enemy.

While Laguna and Ward had been firing at Kefka, Kiros approached Kefka from the flank, katals slashing at Kefka's vitals. Kefka conveniently unveiled a rapier, blocking the first slash that was aimed at his face and immediately bringing his rapier downwards to parry Kiros other strike across his gut. As Kiros right katal went lashed out again, Kefka's hand shot out and grabbed hold of the attack, stopping it immediately.

Kiros tried to pull his hand free, but Kefka's grip was inhumanly strong. With his free arm, he stabbed the katal into Kefka's chest. To his horror, the katal only pierced through by a little, as though his skin was as hard as metal. Even more surprising, no blood could be seen.

Kefka's face bore no emotion. In answer to the stab Kiros administered to him, he punctured his rapier into the arm he was gripping. Kiros howled in pain as the rapier was forcefully pulled out from his arm. An uppercut followed, connecting with his chin and sending Kiros metres from where he previously was. The blow was issued with such force that Kiros was knocked out immediately.

Laguna and Ward threw their useless rifles aside and rushed in to avenge their friend. Ward's powerful fist smacked Kefka's face, but he seemed unaffected by the strong blow at all. Laguna issued a sweeping swipe at Kefka's legs, but instead of tripping his enemy, Kefka remain standing as firmly as ever, while Laguna ended up clutching his leg in pain. It was like kicking against a metal wall. Was this the power of GF-junctions?

Laguna remained unnoticed by Kefka as he focused on the larger threat. Ward had already landed his third punch, but Kefka remained uninjured. The enemy didn't dodge his attacks but just stood waiting for them. Ward couldn't care less as he aimed his fourth punch squarely at his emotionless face. As though tired of his assailant's attacks, Kefka grabbed the incoming fists and with insane strength, crushed it with his hand. The sound of crushed bone could be heard as Ward groaned painfully. Kefka kneed him in the gut and lifted Ward's massive frame. The big man weighed easily 300 pounds, yet he was being lifted almost effortlessly. Kefka threw him into a pile of machinery, heavy metal and equipment crashed down and burying the big man as he turned his attention towards Laguna.

Everything happened so quickly that Laguna was still rather dazed at the events. The monstrous foe in front of him had knocked his two friends out in a matter of seconds; they both lay on the floor motionless. Laguna could only pray that they were still alive, but he now had more important issues as hand as he was now face to face with his enemy.

Kefka flicked his rapier menacingly at Laguna's direction. In his fencing position, the rapier charged towards Laguna's direction. The president ducked and quickly rolled to a side as a kick from Kefka missed him by inches. The rapier slashed downwards as he dodged backwards, however a cut to his arm appeared indication that he wasn't fast enough to evade.

'What's this Kefka? Is this just some dumb assassination plot?' Laguna barked at Kefka, breaking the silence between the two. However his enemy appeared not to understand his words and continued with the attack as though nothing was being said. The rapier was stabbed once more at his direction. Laguna sidestepped to his right, but was not fast enough to further dodge an incoming elbow in his chest.

The air was knocked out cleanly from Laguna's lungs as he tumbled backwards. It was as though a metal baseball bat had been swung at him. He rubbed his chest painfully, wondering whether his ribcage would be able to take another such impact. Yet something was inkling his mind; there was clearly something wrong with his opponent. Gone were the famous taunts he used to throw at his enemies, he wasn't even responding to Laguna's questions. Even worse was the face he bore. It looked inhuman for there was no expression or emotion of any sort. A robotic face would be more apt.

Laguna's train of thoughts were shattered by the slashing swipe of a rapier. He felt the pain as the rapier slashed his thigh. As he rolled to avoid more slashes, he looked up in time to see a fist slamming downwards at his head. He quickly rolled past the smashing fist that crashed on the floor, leaving a dent. Laguna shuddered at the thought of what would happen to him had his head been there in place.

Laguna was dodging the attacks with his life, yet Kefka was too fast. The rapier slashed across his chest, just as Laguna leapt backwards, parts of his presidential robe tearing as the rapier missed him by whiskers. Kefka's hand shot out suddenly and grabbed Laguna by his clothes. It happened so fast that there was nothing he could do as he found himself being flung forcefully against a pillar. Laguna let out a cry of pain as Kefka moved in for the kill.

Sounds of thrusters humming were heard as the air transport with Ellone on board started to lift off. Laguna's attention was shifted immediately to the transport, he hadn't expected the transport to leave without its leader, but apparently that was the case. He quickly got up and ran after the transport.

'Ellone!'

* * *

A bright red ship suddenly came into view and blocked the gate that the transport was escaping. The huge ship was none other than the Ragnarok. Its twin Vulcan Miniguns kicked into motion. In a split second, hundreds of brass casings rained from below the Ragnarok as the bullets slammed into the transport.

Laguna watched in horror as the transport was ripped apart by the Ragnarok, armour and glass tore from the transport as gunfire shredded them mercilessly. He breathed a sigh of relief when the Ragnarok stopped firing as the transport veered out of control and crash-landed onto the ground. Its hull was riddled with bullet holes and definitely in no condition to fly. Laguna ran towards the transport fearing for Ellone's safety. But he was stopped in his tracks as Kefka suddenly leapt over him and appeared in front of him, cutting his way off.

Without wasting any time, the rapier lashed out with great speed, catching Laguna in his shoulder. Grinding his teeth in pain, Laguna tore himself free of the rapier and ducked low as a left hook went for his head. Even before he could get up, he was already kicked hard in the stomach, skidding a few metres across the ground.

Laguna struggled to get up, only to experience a jab to his right cheek. He staggered backwards as his head whirled with dizziness. He instinctively sidestepped as the rapier plunged for his thigh, missing only barely. Kefka came up with a roundhouse kick aiming for Laguna's head. Laguna ducked as the leg went past his head but Kefka followed up with a second kick, hitting his gut and sending him rolling.

The kick was so strong that Laguna vomited blood. The ex-Galbadian soldier was a tough man, but unlike Garden SeeDs, he did not have any GF-junctions. He was very much a normal human. After suffering the beatings of such a strong foe, it was a matter of time before Laguna succumbed to his enemy.

Battered and bruised, Laguna got up weakly as Kefka closed in for the kill. 'This is it…' he thought to himself, his blurry vision indicating that Kefka was walking slowly towards him. He had cheated death countless of times back when he was a Galbadian soldier, his facing off with a Ruby Dragon in Trabia, his overthrowing of Adel in Esthar; it appeared that his luck had finally run out.

At that moment, the Ragnarok flew past the two and headed towards the Hydra. A figure dropped down from the air and landed between Laguna and Kefka. The man was dressed in a black leather jacket and matching black pants. From behind, Laguna could see that he had medium length brown hair, but the blue shining gunblade he held in his hand told Laguna who that man was.

His son, Squall.

* * *

Squall readied himself to face his opponent. He had heard about the SE commander. Previously a Galbadian commander, his tactics were brutal and ruthless and his enemies feared him. He was also an excellent swordsman and had been a formidable foe on the battlefield. Involved heavily in the Galbadian-Esthar war, he once led an ambush to kill Adel. However the ambush failed, Adel decimated his squad and he himself was badly injured by the sorceress. Although saved and brought back to Galbadia, the blow was great to his pride. There was a great change in his character, evident in his choice of clothes. He became even more sadistic and insane, and had bore his hatred to all sorceresses and anything magic. When the SE was formed, it was a matter of time before he rose to become the commander of their forces.

Yet there was something very wrong with the Kefka that was facing him. His face bore no emotion, but Squall didn't care as his opponent charged at him with rapier in hand. Squall pushed aside the rapier aimed at his heart. The punch that followed was easily ducked. He quickly parried the slash at his side and leapt backwards as Kefka did a sweep with his legs.

Squall remained on the defensive end while observing his opponents attacking style. It quickly occurred to him that Kefka's attacks seemed to follow a pattern, as though it was being programmed. As the rapier slashed down at his side again, he leapt over Kefka. Twisting his body in mid-air, he shifted his feet and came down into a kicking position, his foot slamming into Kefka's face as he turned around.

Squall landed on his feet but was shocked to see Kefka still standing. A normal man would have already been lying on the floor yet he stood unaffected by the attack. Kefka took advantage of Squall's surprise. A strong punch found itself against Squall's stomach, followed by a roundhouse kick at his face, sending the Commander tumbling across the floor.

Squall quickly got up and blocked a slash to his right. His enemy was so strong and quick although he did not have any GF-enhancements as Squall could feel no magic in him. An elbow swipe missed Squall's head barely as he rolled backwards. Kefka charged at him again but was surprised by electricity bolts erupting around him as Squall let loose a Thundaga spell.

Squall had only intended the spell to wound his opponent slightly, yet Kefka suddenly staggered back, jolts of electricity sparked out of him. His movement seemed encumbered, badly affected by the magic attack. Only then did Squall realise what he was facing all along. Squall pressed on with his advantage; he came in with an arcing slash, and with all his GF-enhanced strength, he flung the rapier aside and quickly followed up with a stab into his gut.

'No one messes with my dad and gets away with it.'

With a pull of the trigger, Kefka's body was ripped apart, the top half of the body was being blown off. Laguna walked up to Squall and surveyed their dead foe, which happened to be a robot. Bits and pieces of its electronics lay scattered on the ground, its legs and head still lay rather intact, but what remained of the body was charred metal pieces.

'We were fighting a robot all along?' Laguna spoke with disbelief. Squall only nodded, wondering why was such a robot sent to fight them. Both their attention was immediately centered on the crashed transport. Squall quickly rushed towards the transport as a few SE soldiers started to emerge from it. They seemed unmoved by the Commander's approach and took out their batons to fight Squall.

Moments later, both the soldiers lay dead on the ground in a pool of blue blood. The last remaining soldier stood there shocked at how fast his comrades were being slain by Squall. He grabbed hold of his hostage tighter.

'Don't move any nearer! I'll kill her!' He held a short knife at Ellone's neck, his other arm locking with Ellone's arm, preventing her from moving freely. However Squall did not slow down one bit; he continued walking towards the terrified soldier.

'Stop! I'll kill her!' The soldier shouted once more, his courage was wavering. He had hoped that the hostage would be the Commander's weakness and would have provided him with a chance for escape. Yet the Commander showed no sign of weakness and was approaching towards him at the same speed.

Suddenly, the gunblade slashed upwards. It happened so quickly that the soldier didn't manage to move his armed hand towards the neck of his hostage. He soon found out that there was no longer a hand in place for it was lying on the floor. He let go of Ellone as his other hand grabbed hold of his severed arm, blue blood pouring out from the wound.

Squall didn't follow up on the downed SE soldier. He was as good as dead; the shock of suddenly losing his arm was enough to leave him traumatised. Ellone ran towards Squall and hugged him, Squall returned the hug. It was good to see his father and sister alive.

'Where is the fourth SE soldier?' Laguna asked, worried of any sneak attacks that might still occur.

'He was the pilot of the transport and was killed when we were fired upon.' Ellone explained.

They were interrupted by a thunderous roar followed by loud explosions that rocked the hangar. They had momentarily forgotten about the Hydra's presence.

'You go deal with the Hydra, I'll see how Kiros and Ward are.' Squall quickly took off at Laguna's words.

Squall approached the ravaging battle between the Hydra and the Estharian Army. Few words could describe the hellish scene that lay in front of him. Wrecked machinery, charred and ripped up bodies, burning fires; it was mayhem. The Hydra continued to lay waste to anything that stood in its path. Esthar soldiers continued to fire at the hydra, their plasma bolts bouncing off harmlessly against the Hydra's thick hide. Elastoid artillery units fired away at the Hydra with their heavy laser cannons while Gesper magic support units blasted magic spells at the beast. However the only thing that seemed to pose a serious threat to the beast was the Ragnarok that hovered about. The airship kept a safe distance from the beast, pumping in volley after volley of gunfire. The Hydra retaliated by firing multiple breath attacks from its heads, forcing the airship to back off.

A squad of Elastoids were blasted into oblivion by a volley of breath attacks, resulting in a large explosion. Squall ran forward to face the beast, Lion Heart drawn to one side. The Hydra noticed Squall's brave advancements towards it and stomped its left foot at him. Squall easily avoided the attack, rolling to one side. He leapt high and plunged his gunblade into its thick hide. With a pull of the trigger, Squall was sent flying upward by the resulting shockwave.

A spray of dark greenish blood followed the blue flash. The Hydra felt pain for the first time as a hole was blown in its body. Squall landed on one of the Hydra's long necks. He wasted no time in planting the Lion Heart deep into its neck and pulled his trigger thrice in rapid succession, each concussive shockwave sent tremors through the Hydra's body.

The Hydra roared in pain as the neck Squall had blasted split off from its body, flesh splattering all over the place. The greenish blood splashed all over the hangar; it was a gory scene. Just as Squall was about to move on to the next neck, one of the Hydra's heads swept down with incredible speed and caught Squall in its jaws.

Squall was caught unprepared by the sudden attack; the Hydra's sharp serrated teeth sinking into his flesh, its powerful jaws crushing him with unimaginable force as Squall let out a cry of pain. Before he knew it, he was thrown towards the wall, spat out by the Hydra, crashing into the wall so hard that bones shattered upon impact, leaving a large dent on the wall. The Commander slid down lifelessly from the wall and crumpled to the floor. The Hydra prepared itself to annihilate the irritating pest with a shower of breath attacks.

A pair of missiles struck, and for a moment, the entire hangar was filled with a blinding flash, followed by a powerful explosion that resulted in mighty shockwaves, sending machinery toppling and soldiers falling. The powerful anti-matter missiles came from the Ragnarok. It was loaded with very destructive weapons, but the confines of the hangar meant that it couldn't use its main weapons at will without injuring the Estharian soldiers. But the Commander was in trouble and Eric wasn't going to let him die like that.

The beast roared in pain. The missiles created gaping wounds in its body, another neck blasted off in the process. Smoke rose from its hide, badly burned by the attack. More wounds appeared on the Hydra as heavy laser fire from the Elastoids seared its hide. More heavy gunfire pounded it as the Ragnarok's twin vulcans never rested a moment. Thunder, fire and ice magic continued to score hits on the Hydra as blood poured endlessly from the beast. The Estharian soldiers pushed on enthusiastically; it seemed the beast was going down any moment.

All thoughts of that were banished in an instant when rays of death erupted from the Hydra's heads. Explosions erupted all across the hangar as the beast unleashed living hell upon everything in front of it. One blast scored a hit on the Ragnarok's side engines, the superheated blast melting the strong armour and destroying the engines beneath them instantly, sending the airship momentarily swaying out of control. The Ragnarok was still largely intact, the Estharian forces however didn't fare that well. In its sudden frenzy, the Hydra's deathly breaths had reduced the force it was facing to barely a fifth of what it was beforehand. Estharian war machines were reduced to smoking scrap metal; soldiers were blasted out of sight, smoking bits of their uniforms could be seen lying on the ground that they once stood. The tide was suddenly turned as the Estharian forces pulled back, awaiting the arrival of more reinforcements to tackle the beast. It seemed the battle had just begun.

* * *

No man could have survived that attack, but Squall was no ordinary man. Bleeding badly from his wounds, he slowly pushed himself up and flipped around and lay facing upwards. He groaned as his entire body ached terribly. He could feel the many bones that were shattered by the impact, his GF junctions barely preventing him from leaving this world.

But Squall wasn't finished. His left hand reached for a side-pocket in his pants and took out a small bottle filled with a blue mysterious liquid. He quickly downed the liquid and felt its effects kicking in instantaneously. X-potions were expensive and rare, containing potent concoctions of magical healing fluid that mended bones and healed injuries in a matter of seconds. Squall kept a few bottles on him to be used in times of crisis. Immediately, Squall felt the large wounds on his body close up and the broken bones mending magically. As his injuries healed up, Squall got to his feet and wiped off the blood at his mouth. He wasn't going to let the Hydra get away that easily.

The Hydra had just finished picking off on a few stragglers. One mouth deftly caught a soldier who was instantly reduced to a bloody mess. Another head lashed out and knocked a Gesper aside, the machine slamming into a wall and split into two. War machines that streamed in through the hangar's gate turned to molten slag as Hydra breath sprayed forth, forcing the Esthar forces to think twice before charging in.

Squall closed his eyes and concentrated, calling forth a greater power. The Hydra was tough and he was going to require some help to bring it down. Purple clouds appeared out of nowhere and gathered in the hangar and as the clouds started to clear, a black being could be seen. It had a triangular head and a blood-red chest. It had a humanoid figure, with the exception of wings and a long slender tail. The Guardian Force Diablos eyed its threat menacingly, and without warning charged at the Hydra. The Hydra took up the challenge; its many jaws steadied itself against its foe.

The first Hydra jaw was roughly smacked away by a strong right fist by Diablos and as the next jaw lashed out at the GF's side, it swiftly dodged, wings flapping slightly and carried it upwards as the deadly jaw past beneath him. Diablos responded by crashing down on the neck with a downward slam using both fists. Further such similar attacks ended up meeting the same fate. Although the Hydra's attacks were swift and strong, Diablos responded equally with powerful and quick jabs. The Hydra was soon left dazed, its seven remaining heads wavering slightly from the blows.

Seeing the Hydra weakened, dark magical energy gathered around the fists of the GF. Soon, two large globes of shadow magic replaced its fists. Just as the Hydra was coming around, Diablos charged at the beast and pummelled it with its fists that were replaced with the black globes. The Hydra roared in pain as each impact from the Guardian Force felt like gravity itself crashing down, its club-like fists crushing teeth and breaking the jaws of the Hydra. After a dozen punches, Diablos flapped its wings and rose from its weakened foe; its time was up. It curled up into a foetal position and suddenly burst into thousands of bats that flew away and disappeared from the battle.

While Diablos punished the Hydra, Squall prepared himself for the final blow. He had quickly closed in on the distance between himself and the Hydra and was soon within striking distance. Diablos grievously injured the Hydra, blood dripped from its jaws as it struggled to raise its heads. Squall didn't mind the Hydra being weakened; it would only make his job easier.

Squall was glowing crimson orange, yellow streaks of energy sparked out from him as he let loose his Limit. Renzoukuken; a special technique mastered only by a select few gunblade specialists, allowing them to channel their power and focus into a series of devastating attacks, increasing their strength and reflexes and letting lose the rage and fury that had build up within them.

Time seemed to slow down as Squall whipped the Lion Heart across the Hydra's chest. The trigger went off as the gunblade buried deep into the beast's flesh, instantly causing flesh to explode outward. Ignoring the Hydra's pained reaction to the wound he had just made, he leaped up with his inhuman strength, burying his weapon along the way and fired the trigger again. The powerful blast ripped off more flesh and blood as Squall flipped onto one of the Hydra's necks. Lion Heart came down hard and erupted with a powerful shockwave as another neck was blown off cleanly. Squall immediately slashed across into another neck beside him, the neck falling off as the trigger was being pulled. He kicked off the severed neck just as a jaw clamped around where he previously stood.

His momentum continued increasing as he landed on the Hydra's back. With all his might, he plunged the Lionheart deep into the fiend's back and rapidly fired the trigger twice. The insides of the Hydra practically ripped apart from the powerful blasts of pulse ammo shockwaves from Squall's gunblade. He didn't pause to notice the Hydra's reaction as he forcefully tore his gunblade out, leaving an even larger wound than before and slashed across another neck in the process, felling the neck as the trigger went off.

The Hydra was bleeding from top till toe, yet Squall wasn't finished with it. His momentum had been increasing ever since the first stroke as adrenaline pumped within him with every slash. The Renzoukuken was just a build-up for the final finishing blow. With a quick leap, he kicked off the falling neck and momentarily hovered in midair, defying all laws of physics. Grabbing the Lion Heart with both arms, he started spinning as the adrenaline and energy within him was transferred to his weapon, gathering at the tip of the gunblade. A tidal wave of pure destructive energy shot forward in a spiral arc of death, cleaving through the Hydra with ease. The white circle flashed across the beast's remaining necks and its body, instantly bisecting the Hydra as its necks toppled lifelessly onto the floor while its remaining body split cleanly into half, smoke rising from the severed ends.

Estharian forces started to creep back into the hangar cautiously after seeing many of their ranks being slaughtered by the Hydra. They were all caught unprepared by the sight that met them. The Hydra lay in shreds; the once terrifying monster was now a large pile of greenish mess, its body sliced into half and its Hydra heads all lay dead on the floor. One man was responsible for all this carnage, and he was none other than Squall Leonhart.

* * *

It was almost nightfall. Hours had passed since the unknown assault on Balamb Garden and the capture of Sorceress Rinoa Heartilly. Garden was almost empty as many of its students had gone to rest after a hard day's work. The day had seen many events, the assault on Garden, the capture of Rinoa and Selphie and more. Now was a moment of calm and serenity that was a common sight in Balamb Garden as the evening sun slowly went down the far horizon. The quiet surroundings of Garden, coupled with the beautiful flora gave it peaceful and tranquil atmosphere. Balamb garden was famous for this.

Yet something sinister was unfolding. Ignoring the pains he felt from the brutal beatings by the SE soldiers, Alan stood up groggily from his bed in the infirmary. He wasn't alone in the infirmary, many more SeeDs and Garden cadets lay injured on the many beds from the assault earlier in the day. Dr. Kadowaki was busy tending to the many injured that were present with the help of some SeeD staff. In the midst of their work, no one noticed the young cadet step out of the infirmary.

Garden's walkways were dimly lit and were almost empty of students. It was a rare sight to see students wandering along the corridors at such a late hour, most of them preferred an early night ahead of the next day's tough and tiring schedule.

Alan was alone. He walked shakily, slumbering from side to side as he made his way to his destination. He had no clue as to why he was doing this, yet there was something within him that was pulling the strings. Someone was controlling him. Each time he resisted, he was being suppressed; a powerful electric shock washed across his senses, sending his conscious mind into darkness and taking over his physical body. It was useless; he could only follow the orders being issued in his brain. He was at their mercy.

He continued to tread along the dark walkways alone.


	7. Complications

**Chapter 7 : Complications**

Winhill was a quiet and peaceful town; many of the houses were simple wooden buildings of old designs, mostly two stories tall with a small garden of its own. Winhill wasn't bustling with people and events like the major hub Deling City, nor was it high-tech and advanced like Esthar. In fact it looked over a century behind in terms of technology and lifestyle; the people opting simple lifestyles like farming and mining, while the women did the housework. All in all, Winhill was almost cut off from civilization, left far and out of the happenings and conflicts that were ongoing around the globe.

Shinji made his way around the peaceful town, greeting and smiling to the people he walked passed. Some gave him queer looks as he passed them; the townspeople weren't used to meeting outsiders. Shinji made his way through the small town, navigating through the many dirt roads and finally reaching a large green field. He walked towards a modest looking wooden hut situated at the corner of the field.

He tapped the wooden door lightly. A light noise was made within the hut and Shinji took it as an acknowledgement. He opened the door and stepped in. The hut would be considered barren for a house, lacking many essential items and necessities. In fact, all that was present in the house was a small table and three stools. Three old sages sat on the stools. Shinji smiled slightly when he saw them.

'It has been a while my friends, Melchoir, Balthasar, Caspar.' Shinji greeted the Magi with delight. He was happy to see his old friends after so long.

'I'm sorry we don't have an extra stool around.' Melchoir apologized.

'It's all right. I have to leave and amend things soon. The Balance has been disrupted.' Shinji replied hastily.

'It was our failure to notice this loophole. Forgive us my…' Shinji quickly cut off Balthasar.

'Just call me Shinji, you know I hate formalities. And it is not your fault; no one could possibly know that Time Compression will disrupt the Seal. The world owes the Magi 300 years of peace for the work you all have put in. What matters is we put a stop to things now.' Shinji said with determination.

He continued, 'You have felt it too haven't you. The opening of the Portal of Death, they haven't wasted anytime at all.'

Their faces suddenly darkened. It was true they had felt it just as Shinji did. 'They will not get away with this ruthless act. The Balance forbids it.' Melchior said angrily.

'But I didn't feel anything! No warning or premonition, only when the portal was opened.' Shinji said worryingly.

'You are not alone Shinji. You have allies this time. The six who defeated Ultimecia are on your side' Balthasar stated.

'They already have too much of a head start. It is only a matter of time before the Balance returns back to our side.' Caspar assured Shinji.

'I hope so.' Shinji said silently to himself. There was a part of him that could sense that things weren't going the way they were supposed to. He could feel that something was wrong with the Balance, but yet he did not know why. 'Anyway its ready isn't it?'

'After you went back, we have kept it safe. The three of us have constantly worked on it. Its powers far exceed what it previously was. Rest assured, we believe you will find it to your liking.' Balthasar declared proudly.

Caspar stood up and passed the weapon to Shinji. 'Blessed by the hands of Hyne, infused with the wisdom of the Magi and re-forged with the power of technology; I present to you Avenger, the Light bearer.'

Shinji took the weapon from Caspar and inspected it carefully. He grinned broadly like a child receiving a toy he had wanted for a long time. His trusted weapon was in his hands once again.

'I wonder how the Triumvirate are going to react when they see this again.' Shinji chuckled happily.

* * *

The Balamb Transport was flying at top speed. The sleek Panther-A Air Transport was Garden's new addition to its large arsenal; able to transport up to 8 troops, what the Panther lacked in capacity, it made up for in its sheer speed with twin hybrid jet thrusters powering the craft. The dark blue transport came with stealth enhancements, using some of the best radar absorption technology available, giving it an extra advantage during insertions and extractions for covert operations.

Besides the pilot and co-pilot, the transport only had 3 occupants. Zell shuffled in his seat impatiently, occasionally punching at an imaginary opponent. The other two passengers seated opposite him were far more silent and still. One was a large titan of a man, easily 6 foot 5 and with muscles that could rival an Iron Giant. He was thoroughly tanned and wore a tight fitting jacket that showed off his impressive chest muscles. He wore a large metal shoulder guard with the engravings of the Chinese word "Thunder". Even more fearsome was the large _bo_ staff that lay beside him, his personal weapon. Beside the large man was a petite woman in a tight fitting blue suit. She would have been considered pretty if she didnt carry such a fierce look all the time. She had shoulder length greyish-silver hair that was parted to one side, half covering one side of her eye that had an eye patch over it. She wore a shoulder guard, this one with the engravings of the Chinese word "Wind". In her hand was a deadly chakram, sharpened and ready to kill.

Fujin and Raijin, the Wind and Thunder siblings. The two had been made SeeD members after passing the exams last year and have quickly risen in rank due to their combat capability, assisting in many SeeD missions and performing admirably well. They were still a posse with Seifer, but ever since Seifer's changing of ways, brother and sister have both been affected to a rather large extent. Both now placed their focus on their work, resulting in their impressive performance in SeeD.

They had been in the transport for a little over two hours, and Zell was getting restless. All they could hear was the Panther's powerful twin engines roaring in the background. Finally, he stood up and started pacing about in the tight confines of the transport, getting on Fujin's nerves in the process.

'SIT!' Fujin commanded. Zell spun around and growled at her, he had enough sitting for one day.

'No way man! I need to move, my butt is aching.' Zell voiced his displeasure.

'So do we, but its very distracting seeing you moving around ya know?' Raijin tried to reason with Zell, who apparently wasn't listening.

'I'm in charge and I get to move. You all stay put.' Zell sounded smugly. Rarely did the fighter get to lead a team; he was keen on making himself feel a bit superior for the day.

'USELESS.' Fujin turned away from Zell, ignoring the fighter who thrust out a fist threateningly at her.

'Who ya calling useless! I'll do what I want.' Zell fumed at the petite woman.

'Fuu, you can't say that to Zell. He's our leader ya know? What if he… OWWW!' Raijin was stopped mid-sentence by Fujin, who had stomped on his foot, leaving the big man clutching his foot in pain.

'RESPECT.' Fujin shot a glare at her brother.

'Sorry Fuu, won't do it again.' Raijin apologized immediately; his sister clearly didn't like Raijin siding with Zell.

Zell ignored the sibling squabble and headed to the cockpit of the transport. The pilot greeted him immediately. 'Lieutenant Zell, we are approaching Galbadia Garden soon. ETA 8 minutes.'

'That's good, couldn't wait any longer.' Zell said eagerly. He was ready to whip some monster butt.

'Maybe you would like to take a look at this sir.' There was a sense of uneasiness in the pilot's tone.

It was almost nightfall, yet the sky was eerily red, as though stained with blood. There was a large mass of swirling clouds that was dark purple, bolts of lightning streaked and flashed across the sky. Directly beneath this mass of clouds was Galbadia Garden. Heavy activity seemed to be taking place as the Garden was virtually littered with small objects. From afar, Zell couldn't tell what those objects were, but based on his gut feeling, they were nasty.

It took awhile before Zell finally spoke in a serious tone. 'Speed up. We've got some cleaning up to do.'

* * *

Headmaster Vinche made his way to the Command Centre. No one seem to notice his entrance, everyone was busy with their task at hand. Sirens blared noisily at the background, SeeD officers ran about issuing commands to the panic-stricken cohort. Everyone was at a loss on the proper course of action. Cries for help were constantly heard over the intercom as monsters continued to flood Galbadia Garden.

Vinche strode across the Command Centre, his mind was still in a whirl. The only thing that kept playing in his head was the downfall of Galbadia Garden. Yet, everything made no sense to him. How could monsters appear out of nowhere? The great and mighty Galbadia Garden brought to its knees by a bunch of mindless creatures? The idea was almost unthinkable. These were things that happened only in dreams. Yes, he was in a dream. This could not be reality.

A distressed SeeD barged right into Vinche, unaware of his presence. The two collided head on and crashed onto the floor, Vinche himself knocked his head hard onto a nearby console. The SeeD landed hard on his butt, but instead of helping the Headmaster up, he rushed off to attend to more important matters. He lightly touched his forehead and felt the stinging pain from his wound, staining his hand with a light tinge of blood. This was no dream.

A sudden spur of adrenaline started building up within Vinche. No way was he going to let Galbadia Garden fall. This was his pride and he will do whatever it takes to ensure its survival. He marched towards the communications officer and roughly shoved him out of his seat and took over his place. The officer just stared at the Headmaster who seemed completely out of his mind. Vinche tapped a few keys on the console and redirected the intercom to reach out to the entire Garden.

Grabbing hold of the mike, he spoke to the entire cohort. 'Galbadia Garden, this is Headmaster Vinche.'

Following Galbadia Garden protocol, students were to stop all current activity, salute and pay attention to the Headmaster's speech. Today was an exception as everyone continued what they were doing, many fighting for their lives at the same moment. But they heard the Headmaster's words loud and clear.

'I understand at this moment, many of you are fighting dearly for your lives. Some might even be on the verge of giving up, for it seems all hope is lost. The enemy come in unlimited quantities out of nowhere. We are facing terrible odds.' Vinche paused awhile and took in a deep breath.

'BUT WE WILL NOT FALL!' His deep voice bellowed into the mike and across the entire Garden. 'We will not let ourselves succumb to these mindless freaks. We will stand firm and defeat whatever that comes. Even as I speak, aid is on its way. The other Gardens, the armies of Galbadia and Dollet are en route to wipe out these monsters. These bastards don't stand a chance.'

'Even without the help of the others, we are still capable of winning this battle on our own. This is Garden, and we have the mighty SeeD, the elite of the elite! We are not going to sit back and let these fiends take over our Garden. This is our home and it shall always remain our home. If these fiends think they can beat us out of our home easily, they are Hyne fucking wrong for they are going to have to earn it the hard way. Show these monsters what we Galbadian's are truly made of! GIVE THE BASTARDS HELL!' Vinche was practically roaring into the mike.

Immediately, loud shouts and war cries could be heard all over Galbadia Garden. Vinche's speech had pumped up the men and women's courage, giving them renewed vigour and hope. Even the frantic atmosphere in the Command Centre was replaced with one of newfound confidence. Vinche gave a sigh of relief; there might still be hope after all.

Suddenly there was a loud crackle of electricity. It drew everyone's attention as a blue portal started to materialize in the middle of the room. Many instinctively drew their side arms and weapons, fearing the appearance of a monster. Up till now, no monster has warped into within the building compound, only the outdoors. This was the first one, and no one was taking any chances.

A bright flash erupted, blinding many in the room. Instead of the monster they were expecting, a man emerged from the portal. Clad in full samurai armour that was blood red in colour and decorated with beautiful gold patterns, his long black hair stretched all the way to his back. A black eye patch covered his left eye, revealing a sinister looking face.

'Nice speech, too bad it's not going to make much of a difference.' With that the man started to laugh.

'Who the hell are you?' demanded a SeeD fiercely. The remaining SeeD and cadets in the Command Centre were all in place, surrounding the intruder. All had their weapons drawn and ready to face the intruder at any moment.

'13 armed, 1 unarmed; against me alone. Bad odds for you kids.' He sneered at them and flashed Vinche a stare, which sent shivers running down his spine.

'That eye…' thought Vinche. Even though he was wearing an eye patch, Vinche could sense the piercing stare that came from beneath the eye patch, a stare so strong it seemed to see through him and unveil all his secrets.

'We will take you out if you do not leave! Who are you?' The SeeD demanded again, clearly running out of patience. They couldn't allow an unknown intruder to stay within the Command Centre.

The man reached for the two katanas by his side and drew them out in an instant. 'You're worse nightmare.' He hissed devilishly.

* * *

Quistis was right; the SE hovercraft had travelled through an underwater cavern right below the Horizon Bridge. Quisits had remembered studying in Geography classes back in Balamb Garden about the many underwater tunnels that riddled the Western Continent. Many of them were inhabited by sea monsters hence few people tend to explore these tunnels. It appears the SE must have cleared the monster-infested tunnels for their own use.

The 100 strong SeeD team was now housed in 4 Dollet submersibles, with 2 more transport packed with Dollet Troops. The Dollet Dukedom had gladly offered assistance to the Garden team. They too wanted to bring down the terrorist group.

After an hour of searching, they managed to locate the SE hideout. Quistis had opted to go with 3 other SeeDs to scout ahead and infiltrate the hideout first, instead of charging in head-on which might alert the SE. The transports were to stay back and wait for her signal before charging into the hideout.

Donning a dark blue dive gear, the small scout team approached the base stealthily, disarming sensors along the way that might give them away. They had decided to take the silent approach, hence they started out 500 metres away from the base. Finally, they reached the docking platform of the base. The platform was empty except for one hovercraft, which was the one they escaped with. Quistis quickly scanned the hideout for potential targets, but one thing immediately caught her attention. Parked in the middle of the hideout was a jet, and it didn't require a genius to figure out whom they were transporting with the jet.

The scout team quickly got up the platform and hid behind crates that were lying everywhere, ditching their oxygen tanks back in the water. For a small hideout like this, there was a great amount of equipment and machinery. Quistis suspected that this was one of the SE's warehouses and gather points, where troops would assemble and stock up on supplies before getting on their next mission. The SE hid their bases very well; this was the first time they had actually managed to find one.

A SE soldier walked towards the crate they were hiding, making his usual rounds. It was then when he noticed the wet marks on the floor. Suspecting intruders, he quickly switched to thermal vision on his visor.

Even before the soldier's hand reached his visor, a whip had already wrapped around his neck. Quistis had noticed the prints they had left and had already moved into action immediately. With a strong tug, his neck cracked and he was dead.

The team drew breaths of relief and quickly hid the body, only to be interrupted by loud blaring sirens. Unknown to Quistis and the team, every SE soldier that were stationed in the base had a chip planted in them which sent signals to the main computer indicating their vitals. If anyone were to die or go unconscious at any moment, the base will be informed immediately.

Realizing their cover was blown, the team sprang into action immediately. The three other SeeDs took of grenades and launched them into the fray. Causing mayhem and destruction was a powerful source of distraction. The SeeDs took full advantage of this; one SE soldier who was dumbfounded by the sudden sirens and explosions had his head slashed off by a sword. Quistis easily dispatched a trio of SE soldiers that were caught unprepared by the attack with her whip, killing them even before they had a chance to raise their rifles.

More grenades were launched at the SE troops, blasting many apart and stunning even more.

Suddenly, the SE troops started to fight back in an orderly manner. They distanced themselves from the advancing SeeD team and pumped bullets against them. 'Barrier up!' shouted Quistis as she noticed the sudden turn of events. From afar, she noticed a figure relaying commands to the soldier. That was sure to be Biggs.

Caught in the open, Quistis immediately raised Protect spells just in time as bullets bounced off her blue shield. The other SeeDs did likewise, however one of them was a fraction too slow. Bullets instantly tore through him; even with GF junctions, it was unlikely that he could survive such a fierce barrage of bullets. His body slowly crumpled into a pool of his own blood, bullet holes present all over him.

Quistis cursed at seeing the death of one of her comrades. They had been lured out into the open, leaving them vulnerable to SE gunfire. Even if they had crates to duck behind, she wondered how long those crates could hold under the combined firing of an entire squad of soldiers. They concentrated on casting quick offensive spells against their attackers, falling some men and forcing the squad of troops to duck for cover.

Several SE soldiers on the second floor brought out rocket launchers and aimed it at the trio. Seconds later, 5 rockets were on their way to blasting Quistis and her men to pieces. Quistis noticed just in time and leapt to a side with all her strength. However the remaining two SeeDs weren't so lucky. Concentrating solely on casting magic spells, they noticed the missiles much too late, the rockets crashed straight at them. The resulting explosion tore through their barriers and little of them were left after the blast.

Anger and fury hit a limit within Quistis upon seeing the death of the SeeDs. They had fought bravely and took down almost five times their number even against an army of SE troops, yet Quistis felt they didn't deserve to die. Those SE bastards where the ones who had captured their friend, and she was going to give them hell.

A blue glow surrounded Quistis; she raised her palm and aimed at the group of soldiers who had fired the rockets. A thick red beam of laser suddenly shot out from her palm towards the soldiers, resulting in an explosion that wiped them all out. More SE troops soon found themselves experiencing Quistis wrath as she fired upon them, magical bullets shooting out from her palm, cutting the soldiers ranks down like a minigun.

Quistis was a Blue Magic Specialist, one who specializes in harnessing the powers of certain monsters and enemies and learning their special skills. She can convert her rage and fury into the form of Blue Magic; unleashing devastating magic attacks as though it was an innate ability against her foes.

Her sudden outburst had killed twenty SE troops, yet more appeared to fill their ranks, pouring even more gunfire upon Quistis. However, what would have overwhelmed a normal Protect spell didn't seem to affect Quistis magic shield at all as the bullets bounced off harmlessly. Mighty Guard was a powerful protection spell known only to high level Iron Giants and Behemoths. Casting the spell on a person had a similar effect, creating a powerful barrier over Quistis and protecting her against gunfire.

'Just charge her! Protect spells will falter against melee weapons!' Biggs shouted at his dumb troops. He cursed silently as his troops didn't have temporal enhancements with them. He was appalled to see them trading gunfire with Quistis even though she was protected by powerful barrier spells, while they were shot down easily by her magic Gatling gun. He had a deadline to meet and he wasn't going to let some dumb-ass SeeD slow him down.

Upon hearing their leader's orders, the troops traded their guns for melee weapons, consisting of swords and batons. A large group of soldiers charged at Quistis, eager to swarm her and bring her down by their sheer numbers. Instead of retaliating, Quistis closed her eyes and concentrated. As the troops neared her and raised their weapons to strike, a blinding flash engulfed Quistis, streaks of light shot out from her and spreaded quickly into an intense blast, enveloping the troops in a radiance of light. The troops screamed in pain as pure energy seared through them. A large crater was formed below Quistis and within that split second, she had annihilated close to fifty SE soldiers, charring the floor and leaving behind many smoking bodies. Those closer to her was turned to ash by the powerful attack. Seeing the insane magic Quistis had just unleashed, the remaining SE troops did the smart thing by retreating.

Her last attack, Ray-Bomb had drained her immensely. She paused for a breather just as a shadow crept behind her silently. She felt a stinging pain as a sword slashed viciously across her back. She spun around to face her assailant, only to receive a strong punch into her face. She staggered backwards but was forced to duck almost immediately as a sword missed her neck. Using one hand to support her weight, she launched both feet into her opponent's gut, sending him tumbling backwards.

But her opponent was up almost immediately, forcing Quistis to focus on him and not giving her time to tend to her injury. He charged at her with frightening pace just as Quistis lashed out with her whip against her opponent's chest. Save The Queen, Quistis whip, was made using Malboro Tentacles, further enhanced with powerful Energy Crystals, giving it amazing strength and flexibility. The whip also had a menacing Sharp Spike at its end, acting as a hook that can slash enemies.

Her opponent seemed to have anticipated the strike, immediately bringing down his sword and deflecting the whip across his left, leaving Quistis open for attack. Despite her injury, Quistis was just as quick, redirecting her whip immediately as it returned back to her arms to deflect the blow by the sword, slashing across her opponent's leg along the way and leaving a deep cut.

Her foe did not seem affected by the attack and to her surprise that same leg shot up to land a kick against Quistis head. She stumbled back and quickly coiled her whip around her opponent's sword before it jabbed into her stomach. Tugging at it with both hands, she lifted the sword up as her knee connected with her opponent's gut followed by an elbow into her opponent's visor.

The visor cracked and fell to the ground upon Quistis strong attack to reveal a bloodied face due to the shattered glass. Quistis recognized her foe; it was none other than Wedge, Biggs sidekick. Her thoughts were shattered when a punch landed in her stomach. A strong arm grabbed her neck and slammed her hardly onto the floor, choking her tightly.

'Hello Quistis, Major Biggs isn't going to be too happy seeing you out here.' Wedge said mockingly as Quistis struggled under Biggs strong arm. She could detect no form of magic or junctions in him, yet he fought just as good if not better than a SeeD with GF junctions. The sneak attack by Wedge injured her rather badly as blood continued to pour out of the deep wound. Unable to muster the strength to wrestle free of her foe's grip, she tried something else.

Concentrating her powers, she planted a fire spell directly at Wedge's chest. Although not injuring him severely, the spell caught him by surprise and the blast was strong enough to push him backward and cause him to slacken his grip. Immediately, she slashed her whip across his chest at close range, drawing blood. Her two feet were up and planted squarely against his chest, hurling him a few feet away from Quistis.

Seizing the advantage, she coiled her whip across Wedge's neck. Pulling hard, she yanked Wedge off his feet and smashed him into a metal pillar with enough force to leave it bent. She pulled again and sent him smashing head first into the wall, leaving cracks along the wall.

She pulled a third time but was stopped by Wedge who grabbed hold of the whip with one hand, matching her strength while his feet stood firm. He suddenly hurled his sword at Quistis, catching her by surprise. Unable to dodge in time, the sword lodged itself firmly in her left bicep. The projectile pierced right through her arm, its bloody tip protruded from the other side of her arm.

Quistis screamed in pain, letting go of her whip and dislodged the sword from her arm, blood flowed continuously from the wound. She grimaced in pain as the sword came free, only to catch a powerful punch across the jaw. She raised her arm weakly to block another cross to her right; her wounded left arm barely came in time to block another wicked punch aimed at her. However the intense pain in her back and arm was reaching its limit, it was a matter of time before Wedge got the better of her.

Wedge was determined to end all resistance from Quistis. He roughly caught hold of her wounded left arm and squeezed the gaping wound firmly. Quistis howled in pain as Wedge wickedly applied more pressure to her wound, digging his fingers into the hole in her arm. Even her rigorous SeeD training wasn't able to prepare her for this kind of agony and torture. Her howl soon dissipated into a soft whimper as pain got the better of her. She felt her knees go weak as her body started to go numb. She didn't even feel the alternate hooks that struck her face or the multiple punches that rammed her belly. Blood trickled down her nose as the blows kept coming, smashing into her face ruthlessly. She vomited the bright red fluid violently as knuckles thumped directly into her solar plexus repeatedly. She stumbled back and forth meekly as she was hit left and right by powerful punches, doubling over when a knee rose directly into her gut. The brutal pummelling continued with numerous strong jabs across her face and stomach, finally ending with a crushing uppercut into her stomach that lifted her off the ground and sent her tumbling across the floor. Quistis spitted blood out and groaned weakly as she attempted to get up, only to be kicked with superhuman strength in the gut that lifted her a few feet in the air before finally crashing into a pile of crates.

Wedge walked up to the injured Quistis and planted his heel on top of her stomach, smashing down with incredible force as she gasped with agony. Quistis coughed out more blood as Wedge stomped on her repeatedly. Satisfied, he lifted her by the neck and brought her badly bruised face up to his own and eyed her maliciously. She was almost unrecognizable after the beating; her cheeks bloodied and swollen, nose crushed and bloated while an endless stream of blood flowed down her badly cut lips. He whispered venomously into her ear, like a snake hissing at its prey.

'You fit the criteria too. Too bad we only need one specimen, your just gonna have to die. I'm sure I'll enjoy torturing you every second…'

He was cut short when a powerful blast hit his side, flinging him across as he let go of Quistis who collapsed onto the floor. The shotgun round ripped apart his armour and tore right through his flesh, leaving a gaping wound which no human could have survived. Wedge turned to face his attacker and was shocked to see an entire band of SeeDs along with Dollet soldiers storming out from transports at the docking platform, and leading them was a fiery Irvine Kinneas. It was the sharpshooter's precise round that had hit him by his side.

Seeing that he was outnumbered, Wedge quickly turned and fled. Some SE troops gave him cover by firing at the intruders, but all met with a swift death either by Irvine's shotgun or a well placed magic strike by the SeeD strike team. Even with the multiple injuries he sustained, Wedge still moved quick and swift and was soon at the jet.

'Major Biggs.' Wedge reported to his superior.

Biggs eyed the multiple wounds on Wedge. 'Lucky to be alive Lieutenant? Get in the damn jet before I demote you. We're leaving.'

Wedge hurriedly boarded the plane as Biggs continued operating on a console.

'Dumb SeeDs. Trying to stop me? Not this time.' He grinned to himself and continued to key in commands into the console.

* * *

Irvine had been worrying ever since Quistis and the team stopped relaying commands back to them. His worry finally got the better of him as he ordered a full-scale attack. He cursed at his own stupidity for not ordering the attack earlier.

He quickly rushed to Quistis side and was about to tend to her injuries when she said feebly. 'Forget about me Irvine, I'll be fine. They have Selphie on that jet. Stop them before it's too late.'

He understood what Quistis was trying to say. Already, the jet had started powering up, and would begin flying in minutes. However, Irvine couldn't see how the jet was going to get out of this underground cave.

His legs were already moving towards the jet, followed by other members of the SeeD strike team. Although the SE forces were many, they cowered under the impending onslaught, many choosing to retreat instead of fighting the SeeDs head on, making them easy picking for the SeeDs.

Charging ahead of the strike team with his enhanced speed, Irvine rushed forward to the jet. The troops tried to stop him as they all knew where he was heading; they were under strict orders from Biggs to prevent the SeeDs from even nearing the jets. Some charged at him with melee weapons while others fired from range.

On his right was his trusty multi-purpose shotgun, Exeter while on his left was a heavy-duty Barracuda sub-machinegun. Barracudas were SeeDs standard issue sub-machinegun, which used 9mm, 45 round magazines. Most came with a laser scope, but Irvine had no need for such fancy gadgets. Instead his Barracuda had been modified for high performance, coming with an extended barrel, increased rate of fire and increased ammunition capacity, each magazine carrying 10 extra bullets. Irvine rarely opted to go for dual guns unless he was out to kill; this was one particular occasion.

The first soldier who charged at Irvine never got closer than 3 metres before a powerful shotgun round blasted his head off. Even before the first soldier went down, Irvine's Barracuda had already pumped 4 rounds into a rifle-wielding soldier from afar.

Another soldier leapt up and came down at Irvine with an overhead slash. Instead of dodging, Irvine raised his Exetor and parried the slash. The soldier was surprised to see his sword firmly blocked by Irvine's shotgun. Unknown to him, the Exetor was made using durable Dino Bone, the Moon Stone essence embedded within the weapon made it capable of withstanding the high powered ammo that was constantly being used, while the Star Fragments engineered within the weapon transfers energies to the gun every shot, making the shot more powerful and accurate. While the soldier was still confused over what happened, Irvine had stuck his Barracuda into his gut and let loose a few quick rounds, leaving him dead even before he dropped onto the ground.

Grabbing the dead man by the collar, he holstered him like a meat shield and charged at the soldiers, their bullets striking their dead comrade instead of Irvine. Jabbing his shotgun under the man's armpits, he fired one round, catching a soldier in the chest and leaving him lying on the floor clutching his bleeding wound. Another soldier soon joined his comrade as Irvine let loose another round.

Seeing Irvine's tactic, the soldier's tried to outflank him. Two soldiers came in by his side with swords raised. Irvine immediately kicked his bloody shield into a firing soldier that sent him tumbling. Both guns were raised and fired shots at the two soldiers, striking them squarely in their chests.

Irvine did a quick roll to the right as shots were fired at him. His left hand was already reaching to reload his sub-machinegun while his right hand returned fire as he got up from the roll, killing the soldier with another shotgun round. The new magazine was slid into his sub-machinegun and was brought into action immediately as Irvine fired short bursts at the incoming soldiers, bringing down a soldier with each burst.

Seeing their comrades being brought down one by one, the SE troops started retreating, many being cut down by the SeeDs who pressed on with their advancement. Just when the SeeDs were about to surround the jet, a large robot crashed out from a wall, bulldozing straight into the SeeD ranks and cutting them off effectively from reaching the jet.

It had a humanoid upper body while its lower half was a tank. In place of arms, it had menacing laser turrets that fired rays of laser. Those who were caught unprepared were either crushed by the robot or mowed by its laser fire. The large robot was "Bulldog", each of SE's hideout had one of them present to ward off intruders and buy time for escape. What made the robot really nasty was the powerful shield it had, which made it very difficult for intruders to take it down.

Irvine ducked low as a laser beam whizzed past him. He fired his shotgun in reply, only to see it bouncing off the robot's invisible shield. Multiple Thunder spells were cast by the SeeD unit against the robot. Dollet soldiers also fired rockets at the machine, but the shield absorbed everything they threw at it. Irvine cursed as the jet started moving; the robot was here to slow their advance and buy time for Biggs escape, which was clearly working.

Ignoring the robot, he crouched low and tried to run past the robot while it was being distracted by the other SeeD members. The robot however seemed to read through Irvine's mind, its lasers immediately gunned down at Irvine's direction, stopping him dead in his tracks. Irvine was forced to duck behind a pillar as the laser fire slammed hard into it. It seemed the robot was under strict orders to protect the jet from enemies.

The jet started to ascend vertically. It was one of those Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) jets. A large hangar door started to open on the ceiling, which was going to be the exit of the jet. A few Dollet soldiers spotted the Jet trying to make a quick escape and immediately fired rockets to intercept the jet. However the robot assumed its guard duty and shot down the rockets with its laser fire. The robot was making it impossible to touch the jet as long as it was around.

Irvine emptied his shotgun of its current load of normal buckshot shells. He needed heavier firepower to take on the robot. The robot was holding up the SeeD force as they did not have the necessary firepower to bring down its powerful shield. They were armed to deal with SE soldiers for this mission, not mech units. It was up to Irvine to dish out that kind of firepower.

While the robot continued to shoot lasers at the scattered SeeD force, it didn't notice Irvine come out from behind the pillar. He slid the first round of special ammo into the barrel of Exetor and fired.

A loud sonic boom echoed throughout the entire hideout as the Armour Piercing round left the barrel of Exetor at supersonic speed, creating ripples through the air. Irvine's junctions prevented the powerful recoil from breaking his bones as the supersonic slug slammed straight into the robot's shield. The shield wobbled violently upon impact as the robot immediately turned its attention to the potent threat. Irvine had already loaded the second shell even as the huge casing fell to the floor. The second AP shot had an even greater effect as the shield distorted and fizzled, disappearing momentarily as the shield generators were being overloaded.

Laser beams flashed out from its cannons forcing Irvine to dodge immediately. The beams missed his vitals but managed to sear his legs, however he ignored the pain. His hands were already expertly sliding in the third round as the second casing was released. He fired the third shot while coming up from his roll. This time the shield shattered upon impact, the remaining part of the slug pierced through the thick armour of the robot, carving a deep hole in the process.

However the robot was far from destroyed. Even as magic and gunfire rained down on it, its armour proved tough enough to prevent it from being destroyed. It returned fire violently at the attacking SeeD force; the robot wasn't prepared to go down without a fight.

Time was something Irvine didn't have. Taking out another ammo round from under his jacket with the labels "DE" written on its red casing, he slid it into his shotgun and fired the round skilfully into the hole made by the AP round beforehand. The Demolition round lodged itself deep within the robot before exploding, the blast from within ripped apart the fragile electronics within the robot, melting the chips and transistors instantly. The force of the blast from within the robot immediately blew it apart, metal pieces flying everywhere. The once powerful robot was instantly reduced to slag.

But even with the destruction of the powerful robot couldn't give the SeeDs any satisfaction for at that very moment the VTOL jet had just exited the hideout, the hangar doors closing behind it. The mission was a failure for Selphie was still in the hands of the SE.

* * *

Estharian soldiers ploughed through the huge mess in the hangar, searching for wounded soldiers and stuff, basically "cleaning" up after the destruction caused by the Hydra. Other than the large carcass situated in the middle of the room, piles of machinery and rubble was littered throughout the large hangar, courtesy of the great beast.

Meanwhile in a room located far away from the destruction and mayhem, Squall sat motionless on a chair, all the while listening to the ongoing conversation.

'How the hell did they manage to get into my country? What is the army doing?' Laguna demanded furiously. His anger wasn't because of the danger he had just faced just an hour ago, but mainly because he was so close to losing Ellone. Had it not been for Squall's timely arrival, Ellone would have ended up in SE's hands.

'The recent events are indeed difficult to explain. Even the beast that they summoned has left our scientists baffled. As for the infiltration, I will carefully inspect our troops again for any moles, although I doubt the likelihood. Esthar soldiers are highly loyal.' General Cromwell grimly stated. The SE attack had startled him greatly; this was their first daring assault within Esthar and he was without an explanation as to how it had happened.

The mood in the briefing room was tense. Besides Laguna and General Cromwell, Kiros and Ward also present. Kiros had his arm slung over a support, wrapped tightly in layers of bandages; Ward's fist was covered in a plaster cast while Laguna spotted various bandages across his body. Ellone came out unscathed and was just given a minor tranquiliser to calm her down after the rather traumatising experience. Squall himself also went through treatment by the Esthar medical staff. Although the X-potion healed many of his injuries, many of them still required medical attention as magically healed wounds didn't heal completely, only healing them to the point where he was combat ready. The Esthar medical staff was top-class, yet he still felt a slight pain in his chest; the powerful jaws of the Hydra had bitten that exact spot. His close shave with the Hydra continued to play through his mind. The Ragnarok pilot Eric, who was injury-free sat next to him, feeling rather out-of-place in this high profile meeting.

'Calm down Laguna, I doubt it's the army's fault. SE must have found a new way of infiltrating that's all. It is their speciality.' Kiros tried to talk sense into Laguna.

'Sorry for my outburst Cromwell. I'm just worried that's all; they were so close to taking Ellone away…' Laguna paused momentarily when a nagging thought struck him. He thought hard about what was disturbing him.

'Don't worry Uncle Laguna, everyone is safe, all thanks to Squall.' Ellone calm and serene voice eased the tension in the room. After hearing what she just said, Laguna immediately realised what had been disturbing him.

'Wait a minute. Why are you here?' Laguna blurted out, catching everyone by surprise, many not able to comprehend him.

'What are you talking about Laguna? You're not making sense.' Kiros asked, clearly worried for his friend who seemed mentally unstable.

'I'm talking about Squall! Why are you here? The summit only starts tomorrow and I'm supposed to go to Garden, not the other way round. If not for your timely arrival, things would be very much worse, but the thing is why did you come?' Laguna's words suddenly made sense to everyone around the table. Everyone was too caught up with the SE attack that they had overlooked this issue. Even Eric turned to look at Squall for answers for he had just followed the Commander's orders to head straight to Esthar.

Squall took in a deep breath. He had been wondering all along how to answer this question for he knew it was going to be very hard for them to believe him. 'Because I knew Laguna would be in danger.'

Everyone just stared at Squall, some with their mouths wide open. Squall's matter-of-fact tone showed that he was not joking. Furthermore, Squall wasn't a man of jokes, yet what he said made no sense.

'How did you know?' General Cromwell asked the obvious. But Squall didn't answer. He had no idea where to start. Besides, he doubted they would believe that a boy had warned him of Laguna facing danger. He just shrugged his shoulders and preferred to remain silent. The rest knew that no amount of questioning was going to get an answer out of Squall.

Laguna sighed. 'Great. First, a mysterious attack by the SE; next I realize my son's a prophet. What next.'

'I assure you, this is only the beginning.'

Everyone was shocked to hear an unfamiliar voice speak. They were further surprised to see a young boy facing them all, materializing out of nowhere.

'What the…' Laguna, Kiros and Cromwell gasped in shock. Ward grunted in astonishment while Ellone looked at the young boy curiously. Eric managed to remain calm; having undergone the shock where a White Dragon suddenly appears in front of you with your Commander on it tends to have a lasting effect.

However Squall was unfazed by Shinji's sudden appearance; he was getting immune to his unexpected visits. 'About time you showed up Shinji. He's the reason why I knew Laguna would be in danger.' Squall explained.

'What? This little kid? How did he get in here in the first place?' Laguna said in absolute disbelief.

Shinji frowned upon hearing himself being called a "kid", but ignored and explained. 'I can create a tear in the space-time plane, enabling me to travel from one place to another. One among the Triumvirate has this special ability too, which was how they managed to launch that attack.'

'You mean teleport? That's not scientifically possible! Esthar's scientists have been trying for years to do this.' Cromwell said in astonishment.

Shinji chuckled upon hearing this. 'A lot of things cannot be proven scientifically. You have a living example here.' He walked to Ellone and slowly placed his hand onto hers. 'You have a rare gift, but you have yet to fully utilize it. I understand why the Triumvirate want you, but alas they have played their cards wrong. Without you, the Balance is in our favour.'

'So what next?' Squall asked, getting impatient. He knew Shinji was here for a reason and he didn't like him going around in circles.

'Regroup. Losses have been great and so is the need to strategize for the next Triumvirate onslaught. This is only the beginning; they will come again, only this time the attacks will be more ruthless. However it will be quite sometime before their next attack. Everyone will gather in Deling City and that will be your next destination.' Shinji stated.

Squall nodded, however Laguna wasn't ready to listen to orders given by a young kid. 'Who's going to gather at Deling City? What losses are you talking about? And why should we listen to you…'

Laguna's outburst was cut-short by Squall. 'Anything else?' he enquired. Shinji smiled, it seemed Squall was catching on to his style of working.

'Only your trust. She will be fine, I promise.' With that he faded. Squall silently thanked Shinji for those words. It meant a lot to him that Rinoa was safe. Although the two had barely met for more than a day, he felt that Shinji was someone whom he could trust.

Ignoring the other's stunned expressions, Squall turned to face them all. 'We need to head to Deling City immediately. How long more before the Ragnarok is fully repaired?'

Eric quickly came back to his senses to answer the Commander. 'About an hour or so. Esthar technicians work pretty fast.'

'Squall, you can't seriously trust that boy's words? We both know the SE was the ones who attacked us, not what Triumvirate thing he is talking about. Besides how does he know what's going to happen?' Laguna asked, clearly not satisfied with the way things were going.

'That "boy" is the reason why you're alive.' He had no answer to his son's words. But if what the boy said was true, they were fighting against an evil that they had no idea of.

'But I don't understand. The boy said we suffered heavy losses, but the Esthar military is still standing strong. One Hydra attack like this isn't going to cripple us.' Cromwell stated. He clearly didn't trust Shinji's words.

A young officer stepped into the room, a thick file in his hands. He saluted the important people in the room, but there was no doubting the anxiety that was painted all over his face.

'We have just received reports regarding several severe attacks from the Western Continent…'


	8. Attack!

**Chapter 8 : Attack!**

A loud rumble echoed through Balamb Garden. Within moments, the entire Garden was plunged into darkness. Shouts of fear and panic could be heard from many of the younger cadets. The serene peace that filled Garden just moments ago was shattered.

'What was that?' Xu shot up from her seat immediately. Just when she thought no more surprises were left for the day, she was proved wrong.

'EMP bombs! Main power is down. The bombs came from within Garden!' An alarmed SeeD shouted from his console.

'Within Garden?' she thought to herself. Xu was getting even more puzzled. Was it the intruders from earlier in the day? How did people get into Garden so easily? 'Get me Backup power now! Search for any intruders within Garden.'

After half a minute, the lights came back on. Cid entered the Command Centre, still dressed in his pyjamas. 'What happened? Are we under attack?'

'No sign of intruders, everything within Garden seems normal, students all over the place…'

Xu was cut short when another SeeD shouted. 'Lieutenant Xu! Detecting over 200 unidentified ground troups heading towards Garden! The outer perimeter sensors must have been underpowered due to the EMP blasts. Secondary power is not enough to activate our built in defences!'

Another SeeD shouted 'Confirmed origin of intruders to be SE! They have SE uniforms and equipments. They are coming in fast; the front gate will be breached in 5 minutes!'

'Order the SeeDs to defend the front gate! Non-combat personnel assemble at the infirmary. Have SeeDs defend these zones too. There might still be people in the Dorms. Have a SeeD squad search through that sector and assemble them at the infirmary. I want everyone to remain as compact as possible and not let the SE troops catch them out in the open!' The commands came out from her almost naturally.

It all started to make sense to Xu. The abduction of Selphie was no more than a decoy to lure out Balamb Garden's best SeeDs. Although there more than 300 SeeDs left in Garden, without the outer defences working, the battle will be brought within Garden, where at least a thousand combat-green cadets or unarmed children were present. If the SE's main motive was to bleed Garden badly, they definitely made their point. However Xu feared there was more to this attack, something more dangerous.

Her thoughts were broken when the previous SeeD made another report. 'A hover-pack is heading straight towards Garden at high speeds! Its reaching Garden any moment. Its heading for… the Command Centre!'

The SeeD was interrupted with the shattering of Plexiglas as the hover-pack crashed through, splinters raining down onto the SeeDs. The hover-pack was a one-man vehicle. Different variants have been used by military organizations all over the world for its mobility and versatile capabilities. The Galbadians used hover-packs with great effect during the Garden Battle over the Centra Plains. This variant was build more for speed than combat as it sported twin turbofans and a large jetpack behind. A sharp lance was fitted onto the hover-pack, which was used to puncture the tough Plexiglas wall of the Command Centre.

Upon crashing into the Command Centre, the hover-pack came to a standstill in the middle of the room, while its occupant unbuckled and dropped down from it. He landed on the floor gracefully, like an acrobat leaping down from a pole. SeeDs started to draw their weapons to apprehend the foe who had daringly crashed into their Command Centre, but the assailant was much quicker. His arms moved deftly, immediately drawing two knives from his belt and in a blurry motion, both knives flashed out from his right and left hand respectively. The two projectiles were thrown with such speed that the SeeDs didn't even notice them, let alone dodge them. One pierced a SeeD's throat while the other punctured another SeeD's forehead, fatal wounds which had them falling to the ground limply. With inhuman speed, two more knives flashed out from him with great precision even before the previous two touched the floor, taking out two more SeeDs even before they knew what hit them.

A SeeD leapt from behind the enemy with his sword in hand, coming down with an overhead slash. But his opponent was much faster. His right hand drew out a rapier and slashed out with a backhand swing and sidestepped the SeeD's attack altogether with blinding speed. The SeeD crash down to the floor clumsily, his sword released from his grip as both hands reached to his throat that was bleeding profusely. The attack came so quickly that he was thoroughly confused as to how he had been injured. His thoughts faded soon enough as his life slowly trickled out of him.

From afar, two SeeDs brandished their side arms. Both held fully loaded Barracudas in their hands and squeezed the trigger vehemently at the intruder who had killed their comrades with surprising ease. But the intruder was long gone, leaping high into the air as bullets rained the spot where he once stood. One of them aimed his rifle upwards and looked up, in time to catch a knife between the eyes. The other SeeD looked in horror as his friend dropped to the floor. Before he could scream out his friend's name, he felt a sharp pain at his chest. No sound came out from him as he felt air escaping from his lungs; he looked down to see a rapier pierced through his chest. At this time, the enemy dropped down in front of him, a wicked smile spread all over his face. The SeeD managed one last look at his enemy who placed his hand on the projectile stuck through his chest and pulled out the rapier while he slumped to the floor.

Everything lasted less than twenty seconds. And within that short period of time seven SeeDs now lay dead on the floor. Xu looked straight at her opponent. His face was smiling with maniacal glee, the white and red paint smeared over his face only made him more sickening to look at. His yellow red outfit was a dressing disaster, but it suited his crazy personality well.

Xu spat out the name of the villain standing in front of her with all the anger and rage she could muster. 'Kefka, coming here was the worse decision of your life.'

Her words seem to amuse Kefka as he slowly looked around the Command Centre. The room was now left with only Xu, Nida and Cid. The rest of the SeeDs were all dead. 'Really? Other than dead SeeDs, I don't see how my life has changed?' he spoke with mockery in his tone, angering the two remaining SeeDs in the room.

In a sudden burst of rage, Nida charged at Kefka. Xu shouted at Nida to fall back, an order that he paid no attention to. Unsheathing the katana at his hip, he came forth with a powerful slash directed at Kefka. The rapier crashed down and pinned the katana to the ground. Nida was greatly shocked at Kefka's strength, which seemed even greater than him who had GF junctions.

Wiping that thought out of his mind, his left arm came up with in a punch directed at Kefka's face. But Kefka seemed to have anticipated the blow long ago for his free hand clutched Nida's fist immediately, stopping the attack. With Nida caught in an awkward position, Kefka's knee rose into Nida's gut, forcing the SeeD to tumble backwards. Not giving him a moment to rest, Kefka's rapier lashed out and scored a hit against Nida's arm. The wound would have been much more worse had Nida not evaded just in time.

However Nida was far from giving up. His katana was raised once again as he came in with a quick thrust. Kefka deftly turned the katana over and launched a punch. Nida spun away, evading the punch just in time while his katana slashed out at Kefka's legs. But the SE commander had already leapt before the slash began and as the katana sliced the air beneath him, Kefka aimed his feet for Nida's head, the strong blow tossing the SeeD back a few feet. Ignoring the aching pain, he quickly got up and parried a follow-up slash from Kefka. Going on the defensive momentarily, he allowed himself to be pushed back by Kefka's oncoming attacks, parrying his rapid slashes with precise blocks from his katana, waiting for a chance to strike.

Just when Kefka was starting to get bored, Nida suddenly ducked his slashing rapier. The move caught him by surprise, as Nida grabbed hold of his arm and planted both feet squarely into his stomach. The powerful kick would have hurled a normal human back many feet, but Kefka only stumbled backwards by a few steps. It was the SeeD's turn to be surprised. With frightening speed, Kefka's left arm connected with Nida's gut, the powerful punch knocking the wind out of him as he doubled over. Grabbing the SeeD by the collar, he threw him directly into a console with immense strength. The machine crackled with electricity as the SeeD crashed into it, getting tangled by electronic parts and wires.

Resuming a relaxed pose, Kefka turned back to face Xu and Cid and walked towards them slowly. 'You see, my main purpose is that man behind you. So if you would kindly step aside pretty girl, I assure you won't end up in the same fate of your less unfortunate comrades.'

'I will never hand the Headmaster over to vermin like you.' Xu instinctively walked in front of Cid, blocking him from Kefka's view.

'Alas, a stubborn pretty thing. Always eager to learn things the hard way.' Kefka sighed exasperatingly. His attention was fixed squarely on Xu that he didn't notice an injured Nida rise slowly from the console.

'Alright then, draw your weapons and lets get this done and over with.' He twirled his rapier aimlessly, as though waiting for the next victim to approach him.

'My hands are my weapons.' Xu's reply caught Kefka by surprise. She got into her combat stance just as Nida stood up.

'Unarmed combat?' Kefka said in astonishment. The combat stance that she slid into was also vaguely familiar to him. But that was years ago, many years ago. He had long forgotten those days.

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden fireblast, tumbling forward slightly as the spell slammed behind him. His coat was burning in flames as Nida launched the Fire spell at him. But the SE commander was already turning to face the SeeD. 'NO MAGIC!' he shouted as his left arm flickered in sudden motion to his belt. Nida knew what that meant and immediately ducked to a side.

But he wasn't quick enough. The knife already left Kefka's hand and flew straight towards Nida. The deadly projectile pierced his shoulder, just centimetres away from his heart. Had he not ducked fast enough, Nida would have met the same fate as his dead comrades.

Kefka was already in front of the helpless SeeD. His rapier dove down for the kill. As Nida awaited his death, the Commander was abruptly knocked away with great force, smashing into a console as Xu came from behind with a powerful flying kick. She immediately helped Nida up. 'Get the Headmaster out of here. Head to Deling City and seek refuge. Garden is no longer safe!'

Nida blindly nodded at the Lieutenant's command. Xu immediately turned to face the SE Commander who was getting up. His clothes were slightly charred from the magic attack and Xu's last attack had ripped some of the fabric. There was only one emotion running through Kefka's veins at that moment. He was very pissed.

Not only had they used magic to attack him, he was being knocked off his feet into an electronic console, and both attacks came from behind. He wasn't going to let them get away for this, but he had more important objectives. He immediately charged at Cid with frightening speed, but Xu leapt in between the two. He lashed out his rapier at her. To his surprise, she caught the sharp blade with both palms and moved the rapier out of harms way. In his sudden amazement, he failed to avoid her crashing right elbow right in his face. This was followed by her left elbow that impacted his chest, forcing him to stagger backwards by multiple steps.

Instead of pressing on with the attack, Xu stepped back and returned to her combat stance, her palms spread open and raised slightly to return any attack directed at her. Nida and Cid were already moving to the exit of the Command Centre. Ignoring Xu, he leapt high over her and headed for the other two.

Nida and Cid were already on their way to the exit, however Kefka was even faster. Nida tried to cast a spell against the SE Commander to buy them some time. The Fire spell flew towards Kefka's direction, but the spell whizzed past him as the Commander sidestepped it with ease. The knife lodged in Nida's shoulder affected his aim greatly as he could only watch helplessly as Kefka approach them with frightening speed.

Xu suddenly appeared behind Kefka and grabbed hold of his left arm, stopping him in his tracks. Annoyed at persistence, his rapier shot out to stab her, but she had already ducked below him while the rapier sheared through thin air. Pivoting Kefka with her back, she lifted the Commander up and slammed him hard onto the ground, cracks appearing on the ground.

'Get the Headmaster out of this place now!' she shouted at the stunned Nida. A swift tug at her arm brought her back into the fight as Kefka lifted Xu off her feet and directly over him. Still lying on the ground, he raised his feet and kicked her hard, both feet planting into her stomach while she was in mid-air, sending her flying into a nearby wall.

'Xu!' both Cid and Nida shouted in unison upon seeing the SeeD crashing into the wall. However Nida recalled the reason for Xu's sacrifice. Cid's safety was on the line and he had to be protected. He wasn't going to let her sacrifice be in vain. Immediately he grabbed hold of Cid's hand and pulled him towards the exit.

The name rang a bell somewhere in his head. It was vaguely familiar but he just couldn't remember how or why he knew that name. Those precious few seconds of thought gave Nida and Cid the time they needed to get to the exit. Kefka soon realised his quarry was escaping. Without missing a beat, his left arm drew to his belt and brandished another knife. A split second later, that same knife was on course to bring swift death to Cid Kramer, Headmaster of Balamb Garden.

* * *

Alarms blared throughout Balamb Garden. It was the siren indicating an enemy attack. SeeDs rushed to their assigned posts. At least 300 SeeDs assembled at the Front Gate to prepare for the SE assault. According to Command, the enemy would reach Garden within minutes. Yet after 10 whole minutes, there was no sign of any SE troops breaching their position.

'Something's wrong. They should be here long ago. Check with Command again for any further orders. We haven't heard anything from them for a rather long time.' Kirk told his fellow SeeD mate. He was assigned to lead Garden's defence. It made him worried that no enemy appeared although they were told minutes ago that at least 200 SE troops were storming Garden.

'Negative sir. No response from Command.' The SeeD replied him.

'Damn Hyne! What the hell is wrong? Don't tell me comm lines are down.' He cursed again. A piercing scream and sudden sounds of battle caught his attention. They came from within Garden itself.

'The hell? They are already inside Garden! Everyone, get back in now!' Kirk shouted at the top of his lungs. Everyone understood what was going on. There were two main entrances into Garden. The SE troops didn't come from the Front Gate but through the Quad. The SeeDs had been relying on information from the Command Centre to inform them of the whereabouts of the enemy, but unknown to them, the Command Centre was the first place to be besieged by the enemy. With the Garden breached, the SeeDs will be forced to fight within Garden itself, losing the strategic advantage of open ground where they can let loose their magic and GF's against the enemy. Within close quarters, the enemy had a much stronger chance of injuring the SeeDs. However Kirk was confident about their chances. Those SE soldiers were dealing with expertly trained, GF enhanced SeeDs. The SE was going to be very sorry to attack Garden with such a small force.

The SeeDs hurried back into the main corridors of Garden. SE troops were engaging SeeDs and cadets in combat and slaughtering them mercilessly. The SeeDs that were defending the inner sectors of Garden were largely outnumbered and were overwhelmed by the SE force within minutes. If the SeeD force guarding the Front Gate hadn't rush back in time, the SE troops would have took down the infirmary and slaughtered even more unarmed Garden personnel.

The SeeDs charged into battle ferociously, weapons ready and sharpened to kill. The SE troops welcomed the incoming SeeDs with a barrage of bullets from their rifles. The SeeDs immediately cast defensive magic; however some of them were cut down by the bullets that overwhelmed their Protect barriers. The SeeDs replied in return with a shower of destructive magic. Lightning, fire and ice rained upon the SE troops, killing just as many, if not more SE troops.

The two groups soon clashed together, sword meeting sword and fist meeting flesh. Both sides fought viciously, with neither side gaining an advantage. Kirk was surprised at his foe's speedy reflexes and strength. They almost equalled a GF junctioned SeeD. He slammed his halberd fiercely into an SE soldier, only to see him parry with equal strength with his blade. He got down immediately and swept his legs at the soldier, catching him off-guard. As the soldier fell to the ground, Kirk rushed up for the finish, stabbing his halberd deep into his belly.

He froze at that instant. The blood that splashed forth was blue in colour. How was that possible? Are they even human? Is that why they are so strong?

Thoughts raced through his mind as he tried to find a proper explanation for what he was seeing. A sudden sharp pain brought him back to reality as the dying soldier slashed his sword against the SeeD's leg. The soldier must have had great will power to survive that fatal blow of his. Ignoring the pain in his leg, he pulled his halberd out of the soldier's belly and slammed it into his head, splitting his skull in the process.

The blue blood splattered all across him as he whirled back in time to parry a powerful slash to his left. The attacking soldier's foot rose and ended up in the SeeDs gut, the powerful kick forcing the SeeD to stagger backwards. The soldier followed up with an arcing slash that ripped the flesh across his chest. Kirk disregarded the pain he felt and charged forth, head-butting the soldier in the face. His halberd came up as the soldier stumbled back, slashing his chin and above, tearing his head in half.

As Kirk faced off with another foe, he looked around to see how his comrades were faring. Lying dead on the floor were tens of SE troops in pools of blue blood. What shocked him was the greater number of SeeD and cadet bodies lying on the floor. The SE soldiers fought damn well, as good as any SeeD he had at his disposal. Even without magic and GF enhancements, they didn't seem to be at a disadvantage.

The bloody battle raged on, both sides refusing to give way. The calm and serene Balamb Garden was replaced with the death and carnage of a battlefield. Cries of death and screams of agony continued to echo through the bloodied hallways, common sounds that were to be heard for the next hour or so.

* * *

As the Panther transport neared Galbadia Garden, Zell, Fujin and Raijin all stood staring at the bloody carnage that lay ahead before them.

'Holy fuck…' Zell gasped as he stood stunned at the gory sight.

Monsters were everywhere, easily a 5 to 1 ratio compared to the number of humans present. Galbadian SeeDs and cadets were fighting for their lives; a SeeD was facing off against four menacing blue dragons that had surrounded him. The first dragon pounced at him with its hungry jaw. The SeeD quickly sidestepped and slammed his saber into the dragon's vulnerable neck. Immediately he was forced to turn around and blast a Fire spell at another blue dragon, forcing it back. He rolled to one side to evade a breath attack, but his luck ran out when a dragon's jaw clammed onto his arm. The powerful jaws crushed down and with a tug of its neck, it tore the arm off the SeeD. The SeeD gasped in horror as blood gushed out. His pain was short-lived as a dragon pounced on him and pinned him to the ground, its jaws ripping the SeeD's head apart. Elsewhere, a horrified cadet emptied her Barracuda at an Iron Giant, only to see her bullets bouncing off harmlessly against the monster's protective spells. The lumbering giant made its way to the cadet, the bullets acting like a magnet as it was drawn to the helpless girl. Without warning, its large blade slammed down and cleaved her cleanly. Such scenes of SeeD and Cadets being slaughtered by fiends were everywhere as monsters continued to overwhelm Galbadia Garden.

The Panther suddenly swerved violently, forcing the trio to grab hold of the transport's railings or risk falling down to their doom. The pilot shouted from the front. 'We can't get you too close to the Command Centre! Those pesky Thrustaevis are everywhere; I'm dropping you here. You guys have to make it there by foot. Contact me again when you have the council!'

Zell gave him the thumbs-up as the transport made its way to the ground. The transport shuddered as another Thrustaevis slammed into the hull. As the transport was nearing five metres from the ground, the trio jumped out of the transport, landing firmly on the ground. As Zell landed on the ground he started giving orders immediately. 'You two help out the G-Garden SeeDs and Cadets by clearing up the monsters. I'll head straight to the Command Centre.'

Halfway through his sentence, the two siblings were already on the move to take out monsters. Zell cursed at their lack of respect for him, but knew deep down they heard his every single word. 'Don't die you two.' He muttered to himself, wishing his two squad mates luck.

Zell knocked his fists together and took in a deep breath, hyping himself up for battle. Almost immediately, he charged forward for prey. A blue dragon that was unlucky enough to be near Zell was the first to taste the power of his fists. Zell dashed forward to meet the dragon, which answered with a breath attack. Already Zell was in the air as the green dragon breath swept below him. His powerful fist crashed down onto the dragon's head like a brutal club. The dragon staggered under the first attack but Zell wasn't finished. His lightning fast fists continued smashing the same spot, breaking bones and reducing brain matter to fluid. The dragon was long dead after the third punch, crumpling lifelessly onto the floor.

Besides Zell's incredible GF enhanced strength, his powerful fists drew their might from the battle gloves he wore. The Ehrgeiz spotted unbreakable adamantine studs to provide the extra crushing impact, while durable dragon skin covered the blood red weapon. Embedded within the glove was a fury fragment, an item that enhances the wearer's strength and agility, emboldening one's morale and confidence. In short, it was a powerful weapon every fighter should have.

Barely satisfied with his first kill, he charged towards the Galbadia Garden main complex, ignoring the many monsters that were everywhere in the courtyard. A chimera strode in front of him; its four deadly heads eyed Zell dangerously while its serpent tail was raised to strike. Most people would pause and approach the chimera with caution, but Zell wasn't one who played things the safe way. He attacked the chimera with a flying kick. The move was so fast that the chimera didn't have time to dodge, its eagle head being knocked away by Zell. The chimera's lion head turned to face Zell, its jaw smashing at the fighter. Zell ducked right away and with the jaw directly above him, he came up hard with a powerful uppercut. The stunned chimera was overturned by Zell's powerful blow, exposing its vulnerable belly. Zell leapt onto the beast's belly and pummelled away. Four consecutive blows were enough to stop any more struggling from the chimera as its internal organs were smashed to pulp.

As he rushed to the main door of the Garden Complex, a violent battle was already underway. Half a dozen blue dragons fought fiercely with two SeeDs who were kept on the defensive as the dragons fired away with their deadly breath attacks, forcing the SeeDs to constantly raise protective barriers. Rushing over to help, Zell grabbed a dragon's tail from behind. The surprised dragon was being lifted off the floor and sent into a spin by Zell. Zell continued spinning the dragon for a few rounds and gathering momentum before releasing it. The poor dragon found itself crashing into the walls of the Garden, its backbone shattering in the process. Its other "friends" suffered just as brutal deaths as Zell tore through their ranks, his fists crushing through scales and bone. Leaping onto the back of a dragon, he grabbed the beast's upper jaw from behind and with inhuman strength, ripped the front portion off its joint. A tail swept against Zell's direction, but he casually back-flipped onto his attacker's back.

But before Zell could cause any damage, a pouncing dragon knocked him off, pinning him onto the floor. Its claws grabbing hold of Zell's dangerous fists. Drool dripped over Zell's face as the dragon's menacing jaw opened wide at him. Immediately, his feet came up in a powerful somersault, knocking the dragon off him. Back on two feet, he rushed forward, alternate jabs across the dragon's left it dazed and half dead.

He suddenly felt a stinging pain against his back as a deadly breath attack burned his back. He rolled to one side to avoid the remaining attack. Immediately, he lunged at the dragon, his fists balled into its side, knocking it over. The dragon never got a chance to get up as Zell pounded it till greenish blood poured from its mouth.

Zell turned back to face more foes, only to see the remaining two blue dragons being dispatched by the two SeeDs. With danger out of the way, he gulped down a Hi-potion and immediately felt the healing fluid heal his burn wounds. In the meantime, the two Galbadian SeeDs approached him.

'Thanks for the help. You saved us big time. You're not from G-Garden right?' one of the SeeDs asked.

'I'm Lieutenant Zell from Balamb Garden. My team are here on Headmaster Cid's orders to evacuate the Galbadian Council. Are they still in the Command Centre?' Zell queried.

'The monsters can't warp into the building. Most of them are outside in the courtyard. Many of us have been assigned to defend the entry points and prevent the monsters from breaking in. the fiercest battles are being fought outside the courtyard. Only a few monsters have broken into the main complex and have all been killed. At this moment, the Command Centre is probably the safest place the Council can be.' the SeeD answered.

'But judging by the current situation, you guys won't be able to hold out for long. The council has to be evacuated!' Zell stressed his point. The two SeeDs bore grim looks on their faces. They knew Zell was right. If help from the G-army and Dollet Dukedom did not arrive any sooner, Galbadia Garden would eventually be wiped out.

'The Command Centre is on the third floor above the auditorium. We will try our best to hold the exits.' Zell gave the SeeDs a salute and rushed into the complex.

Just like the SeeD had said, there were no monsters to be seen within the main building. The thick walls of the Garden largely muted the sounds of battle; the insides of Garden were a stark contrast compared to the Courtyard, quiet and peaceful. Yet Zell felt that something eerily wrong. There was great evil emanating within the building. Zell washed away the thought and moved quickly. He started to wonder whether it was possible to evacuate the council safely given the fact that they had to make their way through the monster infested Courtyard.

The Balamb Council was made up of important members of SeeD, which included Squall and others, and Headmaster Cid. The Galbadian Council followed a similar structure, with Headmaster Vinche leading the council. Unlike Balamb, the G-Council SeeDs specialized in administrative and diplomatic work, as compared to the combat specialists of the Balamb Council. However Zell had faith in their ability to defend themselves against the monsters. They were SeeDs after all and had undergone the rigorous combat training that was required of them.

'Only trouble would be Vinche…' Zell thought to himself. The Headmaster was a rather big man, not really the agile kind. And if the rumours Zell heard were correct, he was as weak as a fly. 'Guess I just have to be his personal bodyguard.'

Zell rushed up the stairs, leaping four five steps at a go, all the while cursing why they wouldn't just switch to a lift system like Balamb and save the trouble of climbing stairs. Very soon, he reached the heavy doors of the Command Centre. But he was thoroughly unprepared for the sight that lay before him as he opened the doors.

The Galbadian Command Centre was designed to give people a futuristic feel, finely decorated with chrome and Plexiglas, supported by a stainless steel frame. The floors were carpeted pure white. But now there was no white to be seen. The entire room was splashed crimson, bodies lay strewn throughout the room, all sliced cleanly by a sharp edge. Wrecked machinery was everywhere and bullet holes riddled the Plexiglas walls. The entire council was massacred; Headmaster Vinche himself lay lifeless in a pool of blood, his head cleanly sliced off from his body.

His head was being held by the hair, in the arms of a man who was clad in majestic crimson armour. The samurai also spotted a black eye patch and was eyeing Zell with amusement, his face gleaming with malice. The two long katanas he held in each hand were still dripping blood from his recent kills. Clearly he was responsible for the deaths of the Council.

'Like my trophy?' the samurai lifted Vinche's head and licked blood off the severed end disgustingly.

'Fuck, you're gross!' Zell spat back.

The samurai laughed nefariously upon hearing Zell's remark. He slowly placed the head on the floor. 'So what are you going to do? Stop me?'

'If you think I'm gonna let you walk out of this room after killing everyone, you're damn wrong!' Zell straightened out his knuckles, preparing for a fight.

'I think you got your facts wrong.' The samurai hissed. Slowly he shifted his arms, lifting his double katanas up. 'I'm only walking out of this room after I have your head.'

Without warning, the samurai was already in front of Zell. He moved with such astonishing speed that Zell didn't think was possible for any human, even with GF enhancements. The samurai's face bore a wicked grin seeing Zell's astonished face. The stunned fighter hadn't even started moving and could only watch dazedly as two deadly katanas slashed down at his neck.

* * *

Ever since departing from Zell, Fujin and Raijin had been keeping themselves busy with fiends.

Raijin had charged head-on with a pack of Iron Giants. A giant turned around to face the big fighter, only to receive a smash in the face by Raijin's _bo _staff. However its thick armour only dented slightly. Its huge blade crashed down at the fighter in reply, but Raijin had already rolled to one side and swept his staff at the giant's legs. The beast fell to the floor with a loud crash, struggling to get up. With the giant vulnerable on the ground, Raijin immediately leapt onto its chest and repeatedly slammed his staff against its head, denting it beyond recognition.

Raijin leapt off the dead giant to battle another one. He brought his staff up to parry a crushing blow from the giant's blade. He grunted in pain as an iron fist punched straight into his chest, sending him tumbling back. He quickly got up in time to evade another crashing blade. Choosing his choice spell, he quickly cast a Thundaga spell against the beast. The powerful lightning spell had an instant impact against the mechanical beast, encumbering it as it struggled to move. Raijin wasted no time, his staff soon descended on the beast, beating it down on the floor in moments. The giant struggled to get up and was silenced by another lightning spell by Raijin.

While Raijin picked on the bigger beasts, Fujin made short work of the other monsters. Her chakram was busy clearing the skies of pesky Thrustaevis, their torn bodies dropping down to the ground. A blue dragon leapt towards her, claws ready to draw blood. Fujin countered that with a quick Aero spell. The dragon suddenly found itself suspended in air and was soon spinning weirdly in mid-air. It was further shocked when it found a chakram slicing its neck, courtesy of Fujin as it crashed to the ground.

The siblings soon neared a major battle in the Courtyard. Four SeeDs struggled to take down a Malboro; the powerful beast lashed about wildly with its tentacles, its huge ugly mouth spewed corrosive acid. The siblings exchanged a nod as Raijin rushed to help the four SeeDs. Elsewhere, Fujin hurried off to help a group of cadets who were being harassed by Thrustaevis.

The four SeeDs maintained their distance with the Malboro, clearly afraid of the dangerous beast. They were greatly shocked to see Raijin charging forth to battle the beast. Immediately, two deadly tentacles whipped out, however Raijin demonstrated surprising agility for someone as big as him, leaping and twisting his body as the tentacles missed him. Landing in front of the big beast, he slammed his staff into its sickening mouth, drawing roars of anger from the beast as some of its teeth were crushed in the process. Instinctively, he leapt back in time to evade boiling acid that ejected from the beast's mouth.

Raijin shouted at the dumbstruck SeeDs, who were watching him battle the Malboro. 'Don't just stand there ya know, do something!'

Realizing their stupidity, the SeeDs quickly rushed in to help Raijin, some casting destructive magic against the beast while others pumped hot lead into it. Raijin continued to weave and duck the Malboro's attacks, all the while dealing damage of his own. It took them a few more minutes before they managed to take down the fiend, with Raijin striking the finishing blow into the beast's head, crushing whatever matter in it as the beast slumped to the floor.

Meanwhile, Fujin arrived just in time to slice a Thrustaevis with her chakram as it swooped down at a cadet from behind. The three cadets whom she had approached didn't even see her arrive as they continued to fire their Barracudas aimlessly at the annoying Thrustaevis that littered the sky.

'FORMATION!' cried Fujin as the cadets realise what she was talking about. They quickly covered each other and formed a circle with their backs facing each other to any Thrustaevis from attacking their backs. With Fujin's guidance and expert skill with the chakram, coupled with effective use of their sub-machineguns, the group soon took down many more flying monsters then they had managed for the past few hours.

A sharp piercing scream caught the group's attention. They turned in time to see a young cadet being torn apart by a menacing Chimera, its many heads severing the cadet limb for limb. The sheer brutality of the monster resulted in a sudden frenzy from the group as the three cadets charged forth against the beast, despite Fujin's cries of warning. Gunfire from the trio soon caught the Chimera's attention as it spun its fearsome heads to face them. With great agility, the Chimera leapt forward and had covered the distance between them in seconds. The cadets froze upon seeing the powerful beast at close proximity. The first cadet didn't even feel the powerful swipe of its claws against his chest as he soon found himself crumpling to the floor. Another cadet soon met swift death as the Chimera's lion head spun around and bit off his head. The last cadet lost all will to fight as he turned to flee, but he never got far as the beast's serpent tail swept pass, its fangs sinking into his chest injecting lethal venom. The cadet soon lay on the floor, froth emerging from his mouth as he slowly suffered the last few moments of his life.

A chakram flashed across the Chimera's back, leaving a deep wound. The beast howled in pain and turn around to face the petite woman. However a second chakram ripped across its face as Fujin retrieved her first chakram, immediately launching it again at the beast. Many cut wounds soon appeared on the Chimera as Fujin continued to torment it with her many chakrams, using her range weapons with great effect while keeping her distance to prevent it from injuring her. In a last ditch attempt, the beast leapt towards Fujin with tremendous strength, its claws slashing directly at her chest.

Fujin was waiting for this moment. Immediately she rolled back and slammed an Aero spell against the beast. The Chimera faltered in mid-air as Fujin threw another Aero at it, followed by multiple chakrams. Aided by the wind spell, the chakrams flew towards the beast with great speed, lodging deep within its vulnerable belly. The Chimera crashed to the floor groaning in pain. Fujin couldn't care less, stepping forward to retrieve her chakrams from its belly, leaving the beast to bleed to death.

A powerful blow knocked Fujin to the ground from behind. Caught off-guard, she quickly got up and turned to face her attacker. However, a sharp burning pain seared through her body as a flash of claws from a blue dragon left a nasty cut on her stomach while she was turning around.

Biting her teeth, she quickly cast an Aero spell against the dragon, sending it away from her. Yet, another dragon had already crept behind her and bore its sharp claws into her back. Grabbing her chakram tightly, she spun around and jabbed the weapon into the dragon, slashing into its eye and deep into its skull. The dragon thrashed around violently in pain, knocking the petite woman off. She collided into a tree trunk, crashing through and rolled on the ground for a few more metres.

Even with her GF junctions, that impact had left her with broken bones. She coughed blood out as she struggled painfully to get up. Her hand reached for a healing potion in her pouch but was violently pinned to the ground by the previous dragon that she had hurled away with magic. Her right eye looked in horror as the beast had both her hands pinned to the ground in mere seconds, the small bottle smashed within her hands. She was too weak to cast any more spells; her body ached from wounds and bruises. The beast snarled victoriously as its jaws crashed down onto the defenceless Fujin.

* * *

Cid Kramer rarely had close shaves with death, being constantly protected by his trusted SeeDs. However today was an exception as the deadly knife closed in at him. His eyes were fixed at the knife, which twirled slowly towards him as time seemed to enter slow motion. It was said that when one faced death, important memories and thoughts would suddenly flash in one's mind. The same happened to Cid at that very moment. Millions of thoughts went through his mind, but one particular thought stood out. He suddenly hoped he could see her one last time, his wife Edea.

After the defeat of Ultimecia, Edea had returned to the orphanage while Cid continued his duties in Balamb Garden. Husband and wife were finally reunited, but there seem to be some invisible barrier between the two, preventing them from returning to old times. For Cid, it was his ever-increasing load of duties and heavy responsibility for Garden, while for Edea, it was a sense of guilt for the lives she had taken during Ultimecia's control of her. Coupled by the fact that the two rarely had time together, in the end they preferred solitude over company, indulging in their own work and duties instead of being together. Yet now as Cid was about to embrace death itself, he felt a deep sense of regret for neglecting his wife, something he knew he should never have done.

Cid's eyes focused on the sharpened tip as it neared him with the passing of every fraction of a second. Suddenly, his vision was obstructed by a metallic surface as the knife went out of sight. A loud thud resounded, breaking the trance-like state that he was in. Only then did he realize that Nida had sealed the Command Centre just in time, the heavy titanium doors crashing down and preventing the deadly knife from piercing through his skull.

Nida was still hard at work, frantically keying code after code into the console on the wall. Only when he was done did he breathe a sigh of relief.

'I locked the door; even a rocket launcher won't get him through. We're safe for now.' Nida explained while panting hard. His SeeD uniform was stained crimson at his left shoulder with the knife still stuck firmly in his flesh.

'Xu could have escaped with us. She needn't have stayed back.' Nida spoke again, his words were filled with sadness.

Cid could understand Nida's grief. To most of the SeeDs, Xu was like a big sister to them, someone whom they could look up to. As one of the most experienced SeeDs, Xu had watched many of the current SeeDs rise from their cadet rank, guiding and mentoring them along the way. Xu and Nida were close friends as they worked closely with one another; both were in charge of Garden's administrative work. Cid too felt the pain of losing one of his most trusted and efficient SeeD member. Xu was one of the earliest batches of SeeD members, and had been by his side overseeing the growth and expansion of Garden. Her numerous contributions have been a major factor for Garden's current elite status.

'She made a decision Nida. All the more we mustn't let her sacrifice be wasted.' Cid replied solemnly.

Loud rumbling noises of battle reverberated within the great halls of Balamb Garden. 'Garden isn't safe anymore Headmaster. We should head to the emergency jet immediately.'

Cid nodded and followed the SeeD through a hidden door that slide open as Nida tapped a few more commands into the wall console. They proceeded through the narrow and dimly lit corridor till they reached a round platform with a small jet on it. The jet was painted black throughout, its body lay low on the platform and its wings were curved downwards. The jet had a curvy and futuristic design, courtesy of Estharian technicians. It seemed like a fighter jet, but Cid's private jet had no weapons on board. Estharians were known to be highly protective over their weapon technology and hence he was against the idea of having them fix weapons on his jet as he felt that he shouldn't trouble them anymore. He was already very grateful for them to design the jet for him. Now he wondered whether it was such a bright idea to be against the gesture in the first place, having an armed jet would certainly prove to be very useful in such a situation.

The two quickly climbed into the jet, with Nida at the controls. The reason why Nida was the main pilot of Balamb Garden was due the fact that he excelled in all forms of vehicles and planes. Expertly, he had the engines running and within a minute, the jet was ready for take off.

Nida cast a quick glance at Cid and noticed the worried look he carried. 'Don't worry Headmaster; even if the SE have anti-air troops and vehicles stationed outside, we will still be able to get out of this place in one piece.' Nida reassured Cid.

'The plane doesn't have weapons Nida.' Cid voiced his worries.

'I know. But it has something even better.' Nida grinned as the plane started to lift off from the ground.

Half an hour later, their plane had passed the coast of the island, leaving behind Balamb Garden. As Cid predicted, there were multiple SE soldiers strategically placed around Garden, armed with anti-air rockets. Even more menacing was the huge AA gun turret that was mounted on a tank platform near Balamb town, all threatening to shoot down any aircraft that passed. But to Cid's surprise, none of them even moved a whisker as the plane flew past them, as though they couldn't see the plane one bit. It was only when they reached the sea did Nida start explaining.

'The Estharians call it the Active Cloaking Tempest, their latest cloaking technology. ACT creates a small bubble over the aircraft, shielding it from radar detection. What's more is the bubble has light bending technology, hence from the outside the plane would look completely transparent. Even better, the bubble has sound absorption properties hence no noise from our engines will be heard. Those SE soldiers would still be waiting dumbly for a jet to leave Garden when we are already miles away.' Cid nodded understandingly when Nida continued.

'I must say sir, that you really have great persuasion powers. When you insisted no weapons to be fitted on the jet, they kinda felt bad that they were giving you a defenceless jet. I heard they hesitated quite a bit but in the end, they decided to outfit one of their most secretive technologies on the jet.' This time it was Cid who felt really bad. It seemed his good intentions had backfired.

'How long more before we reach Deling City?' Cid asked to lead Nida away from this embarrassing topic.

'About two hours. This jet is pretty fast. I'll inform you once we reach our destination.' Cid leaned back in his seat. He started to think about the events of the day. The kidnapping of Rinoa followed by Selphie, the attack on Galbadia Garden and now Balamb Garden. Everything was chaotic to the core. A sudden pang of guilt surged within him as he felt that he was abandoning Garden and SeeD by leaving them behind. But he had more important things to do. There was a reason why Xu sacrificed herself. Nida might not have understood why but Xu knew that Cid did. He had to get to Deling City and call for aid. With main power knocked out, so were their long range communication systems. They would be a sitting duck for SE forces. Even if Cid had remained and stayed with the SeeDs, it would only be a matter of time before an even larger army of SE troops arrive to wipe them out. He closed his eyes and prayed that he would be able to return in time to save Garden.

* * *

He was so close to achieving his goal. Yet instead of plunging into flesh and bone, his knife was stuck in a slab of metal. The titanium door had slammed shut just as his knife closed in for the kill. Now 10 tons of metal stood between him and his quarry. He cursed his luck but soon remembered the reason for his failure. He was stunned to hear the girl's name and those few precious seconds had given his quarry time to escape. But why? He had no reason to be surprised upon hearing a name, however it had happened. Now all that was left in the room was the girl.

Xu stood up dazedly but was still ready for combat. Kefka was facing her all the while, as though waiting for her to get up. He suddenly spoke. 'The so-called friends that you fought so hard to protect have fled to save their own skin, leaving you behind. See how they abandon you at important times?'

Xu replied firmly. 'I did what I had to protect the Headmaster. People like you would not understand the meaning of sacrifice.'

Kefka was almost laughing as he spoke. 'Sacrifice? You think your noble actions saved him? You underestimate the SE. We know everything about Garden; I have soldiers heavily armed with anti-air weapons stationed around Garden to shoot down your Headmaster's private jet.'

Xu's eyes widened in surprise, she didn't expect the enemy to know so much about Garden's secrets. Kefka immediately noticed her surprise and continued. 'Oh yes, we know a lot more to Garden than that. Besides, the EMP bombs were planted in Balamb so long ago yet you all failed to notice. Our diversion proved so successful that you fools never suspected it.'

At the mention of a diversion, Xu immediately understood what he meant. 'The missile attack!'

Kefka was clearly impressed. 'I admit you are a smart one. Yes, we strapped the bombs on mobile robots and had them carry it past your perimeter defences that were focused solely on the missiles. Then we had the bombs activated from within Garden. You must admit it was a brilliant plan.'

'It doesn't matter. As long as the Headmaster escapes, your mission's a failure.' She was determined to wipe the smile of Kefka's face.

Her words started to make him mad. He was so confident that the Headmaster would never escape his grasp that he had only stationed the troops around Garden as a precautionary measure. Even though Cid managed to escape from him, he doubted the Headmaster's chances of escaping the rocket soldiers and the huge AA gun turret. But still he had failed to kill his target, something Kefka wasn't very proud of, and she was the reason for it.

She noticed the smile disappear from his face and unexpectedly, he dove straight at her with rapier in hand. Although Kefka was quicker than Xu, she relied on her many years of experience and SeeD training to counter his strong attacks in the best possible way. She quickly did a forward roll at the charging Kefka just as the rapier slashed above her. Rolling under the commander's attack, she got up and both hands reached out to intercept another slash to her right. Using his momentum, she dropped herself onto the ground while holding his hand, dragging the commander down with her. Using both her hands and legs, she lifted the commander and as she came to the ground, letting go of Kefka to see him being hurled away, crashing to the ground several feet from her.

To her surprise, Kefka got up just as she did. 'Jujitsu, the art of self-defence. Very impressive, but if you think that's gonna save you, you're very wrong girl!' Kefka spoke and charged at her again. Xu had learned Jujitsu since young and had been mastering the art ever since. Her SeeD training had only made her better at it, however she doubted whether she could hold her own against the seemingly unbeatable Kefka, and more importantly, for how long.

As the rapier lunged at her again, her arms skilfully grabbed hold of the commander's attacking arm and stopping the attack. But this time his left arm was also on the move, and a knife was held in its grasp. Xu spotted the attack in time and quickly sucked in her stomach as the knife-edge scrapped her uniform. But she immediately felt the blow of a crushing fist that came right at her face as Kefka's rapier hand came down hard. He followed up with a roundhouse kick into her gut, sending her flying a few feet.

Xu stood quickly, only to see Kefka hurling his deadly knife at her. Her hands were quickly raised to clasp the throwing knife by the blade right at her face. However Kefka came forth immediately with a flying knee into her stomach, causing her to bend over slightly. Her right hand scrambled for the hilt of the knife as she raised it in time to parry the incoming rapier. Taking the offensive, she jabbed her left hand into the commander's throat, all five fingers extended to cause maximum damage.

Although Jujitsu was an art of self-defence, Xu's job required her to be able to kill when necessary. She had studied extensively to determine the vulnerable spots of her enemies, be it human or monsters of any sort. As her hand jabbed directly into Kefka's throat, she felt the cracking of his windpipe as her fingers tore the fragile skin and sunk into flesh, blood staining her hand immediately.

However Kefka remained standing, only flinching slightly at the attack. His left hand landed multiple quick jabs into the SeeD's stomach as Xu gasped in agony, still shocked at how Kefka survived. Grabbing her neck, he flung her across the room with inhuman strength. She crashed into a wall and slid to the ground, cracks appearing behind her.

Gritting in pain, she stood up to see Kefka charging at her. Blood was trickling down from his neck, yet he seemed unaffected by it. By now, the SeeD started to have serious doubts over her chances of defeating her opponent. She wondered whether a stab to his heart would be able to kill this monster. If she was going to get out of this alive, defeating the SE commander seemed more likely to be a dead end than a solution.

The rapier came crashing down as she parried with the knife, pushing it away. The rapier was retracted with great speed and came back in a thrust at the SeeD's chest. Her left hand shot up to catch the blade which slid through her palm as Kefka's great strength pressed on, the sharp edge drawing blood in the process. Xu tilted her body and positioned herself perpendicularly to the blade while her left hand held it firmly in place. Ignoring the pain in her hand, she gripped it tightly and with all the strength she could muster, her other hand shot out. Palm opened up flat, she aimed for the middle of the rapier, the weakest point of the weapon, and crashed her palm into the weapon.

Everything happened so quickly. In an instant, the slender blade snapped upon pressure as Xu's right palm broke the rapier into half. The SE commander looked on confused at his broken rapier as he stumbled forward on his own forward momentum. With the blade still within her left hand, she turned around and plunged the blade at the commander's chest. Her right hand further slammed the broken end of the blade further down as the entire blade pierced through the commander, it's other end protruding from his back.

Kefka staggered backwards, dropping the hilt of the rapier and both arms reached out to clutch fatal wound at his chest that was pouring blood. His face bore the look of absolute shock, one that has no idea how he was killed.

'Withhh mmm windpipp smushed and a blud stuccck throuugh mmm heart, I shuld be deaddd rught?' Muffled words came out from Kefka's mouth, yet the SeeD could tell that he was far from dead. She was right, even a fatal blow to his heart failed to kill him. Was he even human?

Kefka surged forward and aimed a snap kick at Xu. She slapped her hand down to catch the foot and knocked it back down and quickly raised her palm to clutch a jab to her right. She flicked her wrist deftly and her hand soon firmly held the commander's right wrist. His other hand shot at her again which met the same fate. With both his arms caught at the wrist, Xu readied herself for a backward throw.

Xu's wristlock held one's wrist in an awkward position, coupled by the fact that her fingers pressed on certain sensitive points of the joint that weakened one's strength that even if her opponent had almost 3 times her strength, he would find it difficult to release himself from her grasp. But Kefka's next move surprised her. Instead of struggling to get his arms free, the commander's own fingers shot out and attacked the same points on her wrist. Only one who was knew the art of Jujitsu could have done that.

Her grip weakened, allowing Kefka to fling her hands of his with his greater strength. Grabbing the SeeD by the shoulders, he brought her down hard with a knee in her gut. Tightening his grip, he kneed her a second and then a third time. He could feel her muscles slacken as she groaned in pain upon the fifth blow. Lifting her head by the hair, he raised his elbow for the finishing blow.

But the SeeD was still determined to remain in the fight. She managed to catch the elbow before in slammed into her face. Holding it as a support, she came up in a rising summersault that caught the commander in the chin. Releasing his grip on her hair, he staggered backwards at her sudden offence. Yet he came back at her right away with powerful punches.

She caught the first two crosses across her cheeks, barely avoiding the roundhouse kick to her face by doing a side-roll. She met a strong jab into the gut as she got up, sending her tumbling backwards. This time she stood up even slower than before and was punished severely by Kefka. A flying kick into her stomach sent her crashing straight into the Plexiglas panel of the Command Centre. The Plexiglas panels were heavily reinforced and were as hard as steel, yet Xu crashed into the panel with such force that the thing cracked on impact, barely holding together as Xu was trapped between the shattered fragments and the intact pieces. If the kick had been any stronger, Xu would have been falling to her doom.

She vomited blood out while more flowed down from her head, the red liquid staining her uniform. Her body was shuddering involuntarily from pain. She felt like a truck had knocked into her and even with GF junctions, she was barely surviving. Kefka threaded slowly towards her, savouring every moment. She had been one tough cookie, even better than Kefka would ever imagine, but the end result was still the same. She was never going to be able to kill him.

He placed his hand on her slender neck, caressing it slowly. The commander wondered what would be the best way to slowly torture her, should he slowly strangle her to death or let her fall to her doom? His hand suddenly came across a metallic object around her neck. He was about to lift the object to his eyes when he felt a sudden pain in his chest. He looked down to see his clothes charred and smoking from a lightning blast that the SeeD had cast. In her current state, any spell that she could cast wouldn't be of any harm, but she was determined to show her opponent that she would die trying to take him down. Her eyes were burning with defiance; she wasn't ready to bow down to the SE commander and admit defeat.

If there was one thing that Kefka hated, it was magic. Rage took control of him as a mighty fist jabbed into the SeeD's gut. His strength was fuelled by rage as he struck Xu with inhuman force. Crimson blood gushed out from her mouth as the Plexiglas behind her shattered, unable to withstand such a powerful impact. The chain that Kefka was holding to snapped, leaving the ornament within his grasp while Xu fell off the edge. Her gasp of agony soon turned into a scream of shock as she fell to her doom.

Instead of looking over to confirm his kill, Kefka's eyes were fixed on the pendant in his hands. It was a blue-silver pendant with a red gem encrusted in it. He flicked the pendant open and within it was a picture. Forgotten memories, thoughts that he kept locked away started to flood his mind. Emotions that he had long lost suddenly filled him. His knees crashed weakly to the ground as his strength seemed sapped away. The rage that coursed within his veins moments ago evaporated as he lifted the bloodied hands of his and eyed them with disgust.

'What have I done?' That thought continued to ring within his mind over and over again.

* * *

The slashing blades would have bisected a mere mortal. But Zell Dincht was no mere mortal.

Although he was stunned initially by his opponent's initial speed, he recovered just in time to raise both his fists to block the attack. Ehrgeiz met both blades as the attack was stop short just centimetres from his neck. The samurai was clearly surprised that Zell's gloves blocked his blades; he had no idea that these weren't the ordinary gloves that you find in the market.

The fiery Zell soon took the offensive by launching a snap kick at his opponent's chest. The samurai took a step back upon the blow but Zell wasn't finished with him. The fighter immediately launched a flurry of punches that his opponent took across the face and chest, ending with a powerful roundhouse kick into the samurai's gut, launching him many feet away from Zell.

To Zell's amazement, the samurai got up without a grunt even after the healthy barrage of blows that he had dished out against him. The guy was seriously tough.

'You're different from those fool's I just killed. What's your name?' The samurai surprised Zell again by his question.

'Zell's the name.' Zell had no idea why he answered his opponent's question, maybe a sense of curiosity that he had developed over his mysterious opponent.

'My name is Munenori.' The samurai stated. 'Against worthy foes, I prefer to know their names before having their heads.'

He charged at Zell again, this time his movement seemed faster and swifter. The double katanas slashed at Zell expertly. The fighter blocked the incoming attacks with his fists, parrying wildly at the deadly blades. However, Munenori was much quicker, leaving Zell with multiple cuts across his arms.

As the blades came slashing from both sides, Zell ducked as the blades sliced just above him. His fist crashed up with a bone-crunching uppercut aimed at the samurai's chin. To his surprise, his fist punched through thin air and met no resistance. Two long slashes soon appeared on the fighter's back as both blades drew blood. Munenori had slid behind the fighter with incredible speed that Zell failed to notice. Zell rolled forward to prevent any more attacks. He got up expecting to see Munenori in front of him but instead saw nothing.

The fighter immediately realized what was going on. Zell quickly pulled back as two blades slashed down, bisecting the space he was before. The katanas crashed onto the floor, leaving two long deep gashes. Munenori lifted his head, in time to meet Zell's crashing forehead. The fighter's crashing headbutt sent Munenori staggering backwards. Lightning fast blows slammed into his chest plate as Zell fired away. Grabbing the samurai's long hair, Zell slammed his knee directly into Munenori's face. The samurai reeled against the latest attack, shocked as Zell's attacks started to increase in speed.

The fighter was crackling with energy as orange electricity sparked from Zell while he unleashed his limit upon Munenori. Expert fighters called it Duel, where the fighter strings up his own unique combo of punches and kicks, adding his own personal flavour or unique trademark into it, mixing speed and power to come up with the most devastating package. Adrenaline and excitement pumped up within Zell, his movements increasing in speed and his strength upped by leaps and bounds as he unleashed his limit upon his hapless victim.

Time seemed to slow down as Zell's movements became lightning fast. The fighter raised his heel and came down with a crushing heel drop against his opponent's head that would dent steel. Immediately the fighter's other leg turned and smashed into Munenori's face in a powerful round house kick. The samurai crashed to the floor while Zell leapt up in the air and came down hard with his heel smashing into his foe's gut. The room shuddered at the powerful impact. Zell wasted no time as he roughly grabbed hold of Munenori's hair and yanked his head up, bringing it down to meet his cracking knee jab. The fighter pounced on the samurai yet again, fierce jabs and punches hammered across his face and stomach mercilessly, never once pausing to give his opponent a breather. A thunderous cross slammed into the samurai's chest as he staggered backwards, only to meet a deadly roundhouse kick across the face yet again.

Munenori stumbled dazedly across the floor, head shaking after the heavy beating by Zell, but the fighter had already leapt high into the air and remained there. Time came to a standstill as he raised both his fists to his chest, with his left hand covered over the other while large green bolts of electricity charged around his right fist. All his rage and adrenaline intensified to one spot as he rallied himself for the final blow. The charging up process seemed to take eternity as Zell's fist illuminated brighter and brighter. The fighter suddenly dashed forward with his gleaming right fist full of energy aimed at the samurai. In a blink, Zell's fist crashed directly against his chest plate, followed by a bright flash as a powerful shockwave resounded within the room,

That single blow from Zell should have sent Munenori flying for a hundred metres. However upon impact, the samurai had plunged his dual katanas deep into the carpeted floors of the Command Centre, leaving two long slashes across the carpeted wall as he slid across the floor, both hands gripping his katanas tightly as they left a high-pitched screeching sound. He ended up 5 metres away from Zell, barely touching the Plexiglas panel which would have been his exit out of the Command Centre had he not stopped himself from flying away. The carpet was still smoking due to the friction between his feet and the floor.

To Zell's horror, the samurai was still not dead. Zell had held back nothing and every blow that the fighter had administered had enough force to dent metal. His last blow could have killed a Ruby Dragon instantly, yet this man was still standing there. This guy was as tough as Ultimecia! Was he some kind of god?

The front chest plate of the samurai suddenly shattered into pieces, the top half cracking and falling off, revealing a white shirt underneath. He spitted out blood and wiped his mouth with his hand. His face contorted with disgust at seeing his own blood. Only the blood of others brought delight to Munenori.

'Incredible. Such weak GF powers yet you still managed to injure me.' There was great displeasure in his tone. 'Charon was right about you, I was careless.'

'Who the hell is Charon?' The confused fighter asked. Names were never his forte and he had been introduced to two in such a short time.

'The black knight you met. He said you had potential. Anyway, you're mine now. He's not touching you after what you did to me.' Zell immediately remembered whom he was referring to. He could still remember how the knight was clearly the better fighter and had eluded him with such ease. His interest was aroused but quickly put off as he sensed the sudden death emanating from his foe.

'You should be honoured to have a taste of my real abilities. Feel the power of a real Guardian Force!' The ground shook violently as energy swirled around the samurai. Pale swirls of energy circled him as an aura of brilliance surrounded the samurai. Munenori's blades suddenly glowed white, illuminating the room. His blades danced around him as flashes of arcing white light followed the path of the blade, shooting outwards in a trail of destruction. Something told Zell that the light emitted by the blade was deadly as it left a deep gorge on the ground as it swept past. Zell immediately ducked as a white ray flashed across him. He was soon forced to roll to a side as another ray crashed down, slicing the carpet into two.

The table he was ducking behind suddenly split apart as a white ray shot forth towards him. The fighter's reflexes kicked in as he ducked again, but he was a fraction too late as the beam grazed his shoulder, resulting in a piece of flesh being tore out accompanied by a splatter of crimson. The fighter gripped his bleeding shoulder but was forced to perform more evasive manoeuvres and highly difficult leaps and turns as the rays flashed at him from all sorts of angles.

Zell was slowly being cornered to a spot with nowhere to run. The rays crashed down all over him as the fighter decided on giving it a shot and charge out against Munenori one last time although the odds of him surviving were low. If he were to slam his fists against the rays, there might be a chance of breaking through. If that were to succeed, he would have to leap towards the samurai and hope that this time he would be able to beat him down successfully with more powerful blows although he had no idea how. At least it was better than dodging like a rat.

He never got the chance to test that as the rays of death disappeared suddenly. Munenori himself buzzed with electricity and slowly became transparent, as though he was fading. Zell was confused himself, a moment ago he was at his opponent's mercy and now the samurai was leaving?

'Damn those fools! All I need is a few more minutes, can't they hold on for a while longer?' Munenori cursed as he slowly faded out.

'I will be bac…' The samurai never got to finish his sentence as his voice seemed sucked into oblivion. Blue bolts of electricity surrounded him like he was being warped out of a portal. The cackling of electricity intensified, a bright flash followed and the samurai was gone. The room suddenly turned quiet as Zell was the only remaining survivor. The room was a bloody mess, and the fighter knew he was lucky to be alive. He knew unless his powers increased tremendously, there was no way he would even be able to touch the samurai or even the black knight.

* * *

The battle had lasted for an hour. The hallways of Balamb Garden were littered with dead bodies and looked more like a river of reddish-blue blood. The piercing sounds of death and pain had died down as Garden returned to its former atmosphere.

The remaining SE troops had retreated, although their numbers were few. The battle could be considered a stalemate as both sides suffered heavy casualties. A handful of SeeDs and cadets lucky to be alive scoured the corridors for survivors. Their faces bore little expression as they walked like zombies, many traumatised by the recent battle while some were just too tired to smile. Too much blood had been shed in a day.

Kirk limped his way to the infirmary while his halberd acted as a walking stick; his body was battered and bruised throughout, with multiple cuts and gashes strewn across his chest. Slumping at a corner in the infirmary, he watched as Dr. Kadowaki hurried to and fro, tending to patients ranging from the lightly injured to the near-death cases. The doctor was clearly stressed to the core as an endless number of wounded cadets poured into the infirmary. The medical staff was stretched to their limits. Some SeeD members were helping out, casting healing spells on wounded cadets. Healing potions were being handed out by some of the medical staff, but Kirk could tell that their supply was running low.

A young cadet handed him a healing potion. He stared at the bottle, the blue fluid swirling within it. Another SeeD had informed him moments ago that the Command Centre was sealed off, and when they managed to open the doors, they had found the staff massacred. Someone had attacked the Command Centre even before the main battle within Garden had started, effectively leaving the troops without their central command. Cid's private jet was also missing. They suspected Cid, Xu and Nida to have escaped beforehand. Kirk wondered whether they were safe, but yet he still felt that a sense of being abandoned by the Council. They were effectively without a person in command. What if SE were to return with another force? Were the remaining Garden SeeDs left to die?

Kirk hoped his doubts were wrong and that they were not forgotten. Morale was running low in the men who mostly knew about the Headmaster's escape. Many were further disillusioned by the ferocity and capability of the SE troops. It was the first time they had met equal resistance from their foes, and to think that they were suppose to be elite SeeD warriors. The once fearless men and women now carried countless fears and uncertainties, their "invincible bubble" burst after seeing many of their fellow friends and comrades fall in battle.

Was this to be the end of Balamb Garden? Kirk sincerely hoped not. He could only pray for a miracle to happen.


	9. Rescue

**Chapter 9 : Rescue**

The jaws never got to taste any flesh as the Blue dragon was yanked by the tail and sent crashing onto the floor, accompanied by a thunderous war cry. After a bloody pounding by Raijin's _bo_ staff, the dragon remained limp.

'Stay away from my sister!' Raijin pumped a fist at the dead dragon. Turning back to his sister, he pulled out a healing potion for her that she gulped down immediately. Her wounds closed up slightly, but the weak potion didn't manage to heal her completely. Fujin stood up weakly with the help of her brother and both surveyed the fierce battle going on around them.

Dead and mangled corpses lay scattered all across the courtyard. Although it was night, the sky was still a sickly purple, with rays of the devilish light shining piercing through the thick clouds and shining onto Galbadia Garden, giving it a deathly hue. Monsters continued to appear through purplish portals, replacing those that have been fallen just moments ago. This endless stream of monsters was slowly wearing down the Galbadian SeeDs resistance. Even the two Balamb SeeDs knew that it was just a matter of time before they themselves joined the pile of bodies that lay in front of them.

'We can't win Fuu. No way ya know.' Raijin said dejectedly and looked at his sister, hoping for some kind of advice.

Fujin remained silent. In her current condition, she knew she couldn't hold out against the fearsome monsters for long. To make matters worse, she knew she served as a distraction for Raijin, with the fighter constantly worried for her sister. The only logical solution was to retreat and head back to the Panther, leaving the Galbadians to fend for themselves. Zell was a tough nut and Fujin was certain that he would be able to get out of the mess safely. But still, the idea of abandoning everyone for their own lives just wasn't the way the twins worked. Her hand tightened around her chakram as she moved to locate the next monster. Raijin sighed and followed his sister, knowing what it meant.

'LOOK!'

He was surprised to see his sister stop as well as speak suddenly. Looking up to observe what caught his sister's attention, he saw the thick clouds slowly fading; even the grisly purple that stained the sky had vanished. Everything was suddenly normal again as darkness crept back into the night sky. The monsters were still present but one thing was certain, more stopped appearing. At least now they had a chance, albeit a slim one.

Revitalised with a newfound sense of hope, the twins charged aggressively, slashing and bashing up monsters that stood in their way. Missiles suddenly appeared from nowhere, blowing apart the beasts that had stood in front of the two just moments ago. More missiles streaked in and blasted the monsters apart as fighter jets swooped past Galbadia Garden. This was accompanied by shouts of reinforcements as mechanized units armed with laser cannons appeared along with soldiers in blue and red uniforms. The new reinforcements all bore the Galbadian insignia. A new batch of soldiers soon arrived clad in green uniforms bearing the Dollet insignia.

The monsters were still great in number, rivalling even the combined strength of all the remaining cadets and SeeDs, Galbadian and Dollet army. However facing against deadly gunfire and explosive rockets, piercing laser beams and powerful magic, and more importantly a strong will to exterminate all the fiends, the monsters soon found themselves being ripped to shreds by the raging armies.

It was to be half an hour later before the last beast was finally killed. The Malboro slumped to the ground, its body smoking with bullet holes and chunks of flesh blown away by rockets. Fujin strode up and pulled out her chakram lodged in the monster's head. She turned around to see her brother panting hard; his arms were badly burned by the Malboro's acid while multiple gashes could be seen throughout his body, a result of him getting too "personal" with a few blue dragons. Fujin herself was slashed by a Chimera, leaving her with a rather limp left arm.

A Galbadian medic in white uniform came towards Fujin who was clutching her badly bleeding arm. 'You're hurt ma'am. You need medical attention immediately.'

'NONSENSE!' Fujin walked to her brother, leaving the bewildered medic behind.

'It's over Fuu, we survived.' Raijin said meekly, clearly exhausted by the savage battle. Fujin sat down beside her brother, she too needed a breather. Raijin lay sprawled across the floor, his chest rising with every breath he took. All around Garden, Galbadian medics went about tending to the injured. The rest of the military cleared the enormous piles of carcass that was stacked around the courtyard, burning the rotting flesh in heaps and mountains. Among the throng of soldiers, a familiar figure strutted towards the twins. His blonde spiky hair was badly disoriented after the battles he had gone through. But it was only when he came closer did the twins noticed how badly he was injured.

His upper right shoulder was bleeding profusely, resulting in his uniform being soaked. Gashes of varying depths decorated his body. What was alarming was these slashes were made by a fine blade, not by any of the monsters that were present.

'What happened Zell? Who did this to you and where's the council?' Raijin couldn't hold on to his curiosity.

'Some madman slaughtered them all and almost made mincemeat out of me. I'm lucky to be alive.' Zell answered, but there was a clear lack of enthusiasm that was ever present in his voice.

'ENEMY?' Fujin asked, wary that the person who had killed the council was still at large.

'He's gone, left through a portal. Looks like our mission's a failure, some leader I am.' Zell replied dejectedly.

'It's not your fault ya know?' Raijin tried to reassure Zell, but was soon interrupted by a Galbadian soldier.

'Lieutenant Zell from Balamb Garden? I'm Sergeant Smith, have been looking all over the area for you. We received reports that a man has murdered the Galbadian Council. Reports indicate that you were the last to enter the Command Centre. Did you manage to encounter that man?' The Galbadian soldier was decked in full battle gear, and had two gold lines at his sleeve, indicating his rank.

'Yeah I did. But I can't tell you much.' Zell replied the sergeant who looked just as young as him.

'May I invite your team back to Deling City for further investigation over this case? The Galbadian Government views this to be a rather serious situation. With the entire Galbadian Council out of commission, plans have to be made for the future of Galbadia Garden. We will notify Balamb Garden for approval.' The sergeant stated clearly. He made it seem that Zell's best course of action was to follow him back to Deling City. Coupled by the fact that Deling City was much nearer compared to Balamb Garden, it would be wise to obtain medical treatment as soon as possible considering the fact that the three of them were all seriously injured.

The sergeant was about to usher the group to a nearby transport, but Zell had other plans. 'All right, we'll follow you back, but we'll use our own transport. I rather sit on our own cushions, their more comfy.' The three puzzled SeeDs stood up and started their trip to Deling City, unaware that they would soon find the answers to their questions in the great Galbadian city.

* * *

Not a soul in sight.

What lay in front of Seifer was nothing but an endless view of barren and desolate wastelands. The disruption was tracked to the eastern part of the great Centra Ruins, which was nothing more than deserts and hard rock. He had no idea why would Rinoa be brought all the way to an uninhabitable location. Then again, this could be the perfect hiding place for the enemy.

Seifer had instructed the pilot to drop him 2 miles away from the disruption to prevent the enemy from detecting his arrival, willing to travel the remaining distance by foot. It was almost nightfall when he arrived at the desert. The hot blazing sun was nowhere to be seen, instead the sky was filled with a beautiful array of sparkling stars. The cool night wind blew against him gently, bringing with it a soothing sensation. He stood there for a moment, looking and enjoying the wonderful atmosphere he was in before continuing on his quest. In the past, Seifer wouldn't have given a damn about such things, but after two years of abstinence from fighting and killing, he slowly developed a loving for peace and serenity, a passion for the good things in life. This was not like the Seifer of the past, and the former knight knew damn well. He was a changed man.

The Kashkabald Desert stretched for miles and miles. There was no telling whether he would be able to find Rinoa in this deserted place. It was like going on a wild-goose chase, with close to zero leads. Furthermore, the enemies who kidnapped Rinoa were rumoured to be highly skilled. Heck, they managed to take down a sorceress! And now he was charging right into their nest solo. What chances did a rusty warrior like Seifer had for beating even one of them? The more he thought about it, the more stupid it seemed. Anyone who had even an ounce of common sense could tell that it was suicide. However, the lower the odds, the more excited he felt. Seifer was a man of the moment, taking risks and challenging the odds were things he did best. He had a gut feeling that he would succeed rescuing Rinoa, and that was what mattered.

However, running in the desert aimlessly for hours was bound to demoralize anyone as Seifer soon started to have doubts. The source of disruption was tracked down to a certain area of the desert, which covered almost 50 square miles. Seifer had no idea what he was looking for, was it an outpost in the desert or a sunken pit? Was it a temple or shrine? He was basically clueless, which made matters worse as he continued his search fruitlessly. He soon reached rocky terrain, signalling the end of the sprawling desert. He continued trekking across the stony landscape, climbing over small hills and descending sloping cliffs.

Reaching a steep rock wall, he ascended it skilfully within a matter of minutes, his GF-enhanced abilities coming into good use as he scaled the wall effortlessly, all four limbs demonstrating strength and agility of the highest. As he made it to the top, he finally saw it.

From afar, one would never have spotted it as it blended into the night sky. However from the wall that Seifer was on, he could see the dark spire of deathly energy rising from a crater in the ground not far away. The column rose all the way into the sky, ending in a swirl of ghastly clouds. Seifer wondered what that was but he sincerely hoped Rinoa wasn't a part it.

'That's the Triumvirate Portal of Death. You sense the evil in it too don't you?'

Seifer almost fell upon hearing another voice other than his. He turned to see a young teenager standing beside him.

'Fuck! Who the hell are you?' The former knight was practically screaming. Seifer was one who rarely got frightened, but having a young boy appearing out of nowhere right beside him in the middle of the night and in a deserted part of the world scared the balls out of him. Seifer would have thought he had seen a ghost if not for the following events.

'Seifer Almasy, my name is Shinji.' He had a warm smile over his face that calmed Seifer down. The boy extended his hand to Seifer, who gave serious thought on touching it, fearful of meeting a ghost. Finally he reached out to shake the boy's hand.

'How do you know me? And more importantly, how did you sneak up behind me like that without me knowing?' Seifer calmed down a great bit as he felt the warmth of Shinji's hand. At least he wasn't a ghost.

'There are a lot of things I can do, but I do not have time to explain to you. Seifer Almasy, you are about to challenge an enemy whom you have no chance of defeating. Listen to me carefully.' The young boy's tone was very serious. Seifer nodded and remained silent in which the boy continued.

'The one you seek to rescue, Rinoa Heartilly was captured by The Triumvirate. That deathly power which you sense is their doing, capable of raining hellish fiends onto the world. They will be drained after the summoning and will not be guarding the young sorceress. However there is one warrior, Sakon who is guarding over her. Your current Guardian Force abilities are far below his and the time is not right for you to achieve your awakening. Challenging Sakon will only lead to your death. You can never defeat him alone.' The boy suddenly paused and looked at Seifer, whom he had a feeling did not understand a word he said.

'GF abilities?' Seifer sounded his confusions.

'Your current abilities only allow junctioning to Guardian Forces on a surface level, granting you basic speed and strength enhancements. However you have yet to attain the level of becoming one with your Guardian Force, where you can draw the special abilities of your Guardian Force itself. That difference alone is enough to ensure the failure of your mission.'

'I have met seemingly unbeatable foes. Most of the time they don't turn out to be as great as they claim.' Seifer replied confidently.

'You have the potential Seifer Almasy, but there are limits. At this moment, you alone cannot defeat Sakon.' Shinji said with finality.

'Err… In simpler terms, basically you're saying I'm bound to fail?' Seifer did a brief summary.

The boy nodded and continued to stare at Seifer, as though awaiting his answer.

Seifer soon started to get impatient. 'If you have nothing constructive to offer, I'm leaving cuz I have a friend to save.'

'Even though you will fail? You are throwing your life away and achieving nothing.' The boy asked with a puzzled look.

Seifer didn't answer the boy immediately. He looked down on the floor as though in deep thought. Finally, he spoke. 'You don't understand, I should have been dead long ago. These friends are the reason for my existence; they brought me back to the right path and have accepted me as one of them, even after the numerous sins I committed. They forgave me. I can never repay them what I owe. If the one being captured today was me, I bet my life that they would do the same trying to save me, even at the cost of their lives.'

He lifted his head up and faced Shinji. 'What you said maybe right, I might not have a chance at saving Rinoa. Hell, maybe I am throwing my life away for nothing. But I will never back out without giving it a try. I know I'm capable of saving her and if I don't do it, no one can at the moment.'

There was fierce determination in Seifer's eyes, one would normally give up trying to persuade him at this point but Shinji knew exactly what to say. 'So nothing I say will change you? Your stubbornness persists my friend. Do not forget that your stubbornness was the cause of you going astray in the first place, the unwillingness to listen to the advice of others, going against everyone to prove that you were the best, the ultimate knight; in the end look at the amount of grief you caused. You always thought you were right Seifer Almasy, but that is rarely the case. Is it worth repeating that mistake at such a vital juncture? Charging headfirst based on pure gut-instinct and primal confidence without thinking of the consequences? If you fail, your friend dies. Understand that.' It was clear that he was mocking Seifer.

Seifer was suddenly lost for words. It wasn't the fact that Shinji knew so much that stunned him, it was the words he said. Was he really repeating the same mistake again? Were his actions going to cause more grief and pain? 'It can't be, I'm certain I'm not making the same mistake again… I…' His words faltered as doubt started to creep into his head.

The boy stepped forward and placed an arm on his shoulder. 'Do not repeat the same mistake you made. I understand your resolve to save your friend, but your methods of approach are wrong. Your mentality is flawed.'

'My mentality is flawed?' he questioned. The boy was clearly hinting something.

'Yes. You are approaching the task at hand alone, bearing all the responsibility alone.' Shinji explained.

'But I am alone. The rest of them are all involved in other issues. This is a crisis I am tackling alone.' Seifer replied but Shinji only shaked his head, like a teacher lamenting over his pupil's ineptness.

'You fail to notice that you are not alone in this. Alone, failure is certain, but if u allow me to help, you might still have a chance.'

'Your help? What do you mean?' The boy was offering Seifer help? He was just a young teenager of at most 15 years old, what can he do?

The boy grabbed Seifer's hands and something pearly white dropped into his palm. It appeared to be a drop of liquid but Seifer didn't feel a thing and it disappeared on contact with his palm. 'Remember Seifer, you are not alone. You have friends, friends whom you have met since the orphanage, friends you have met in Garden, friends who will go through thick and thin with you. It is this strength that Sakon does not have, and this will be your trump card to activate my help. Draw on this strength when the time comes. Remember, you are not alone.'

Seifer was about to ask the boy more questions but he was already gone before he knew it. He suddenly found himself staring into space; it was as though waking up from a dream. But he knew it was no dream, he was certain he was talking to that boy called Shinji just moments ago. But where the hell did he go?

Seifer would have given it a bit more thought had he not sensed the presence of someone else. He turned around to see a heavily armed warrior standing with a large spear in hand. The warrior was easily as huge as Raijin, clad in fearsome crimson armour from head to toe; it made the heavy battle armour worn by Galbadian soldiers look like cotton. His huge spear had a golden blade with serrated ends, spotting two bladed fins at the sides. It was a weapon designed to kill, and Seifer silently prayed he didn't end up meeting the end of the blade.

Immediately, the warrior raised his palm at Seifer. Swirls of reddish energies gathered into a globe in front of his hand and flashed towards Seifer. The fighter instincts kicked in instantly as Hyperion was raised to deflect the magical blast. The blast slammed into his gunblade with such force that Seifer was pushed off the cliff that he was standing. He crashed onto the rocky ground below, which gave way under the weight of his body as Seifer plummeted further down.

He finally met the ground, crashing hard but still managed to come back up in a roll to soften the impact. He was in a huge underground cavern that was dimly lit by torches. It looked like a tomb, with multiple empty sarcophagi erect on the floor, complete with engravings and magnificent statues. The tomb seemed to have been frequented recently judging by the fresh tracks on the floor. But it was what lay in the middle that made Seifer freeze on the spot.

He wouldn't have been able to recognize her had it not been her trademark cotton blue jacket worn over her black shirt and pants that were now tattered and torn. Covered with cuts of different sizes, her face was deathly white with a faint trickle of blood from her mouth. Gone were the rosy pink in her cheeks; Rinoa lay motionlessly in a small pool of blood that was undoubtedly hers. He tried hopefully to spot a glimpse of her chest rising or any signs of her still being alive, but found none. The idea that Rinoa might be dead immediately flashed in his mind.

A loud crashing thud behind him caught his attention. Seifer swirled around with gunblade raised, pointing at the warrior in front of him who had a spear raised in his direction. He had a feeling this was Sakon.

'What the hell did you do to Rinoa?' Seifer shouted furiously at Sakon.

'For someone who is about to die, you sure make a lot of noise.' The warrior replied casually.

'For an over-confident ass like you, don't be surprised when I stick this in your gut.' Seifer waved Hyperion at Sakon.

'Why should I be surprised? I had been trailing you ever since you set foot in the desert. That thing you came in is long destroyed. And till the point I decide to show myself, you hadn't noticed me at all. The stark difference between us is in terms of ability is just too great. What can you surprise me with?' The warrior replied smugly.

Seifer was clearly taken aback that Sakon had been following him all the while. He immediately took out his transceiver, but failed to get any response from the transport. The warrior wasn't lying.

'You only saw me?' Seifer questioned. 'I wasn't alone.' Sakon had mentioned nothing about Shinji.

'Do not try and trick me. You were the only one who stepped out of that thing. Only a fool like you would dare step onto the Centra Ruins alone. Enough talk, are you ready to die?'

That made Seifer even more curious. Why did Sakon not see Shinji who was right beside him? The boy had indeed appeared out of nowhere, but surely Sakon would have spotted the two of them speaking? Anyone could have seen that. However he had no time to answer that when the warrior charged at him with great speed, spear aimed at his chest. The battle had just begun.

A loud clang resounded as Hyperion met the spear tip, Seifer immediately pushing the sharp tip away. To his amazement, the spear pushed bach against his gunblade with tremendous strength as Sakon swung the spear like a bat, lifting Seifer off his feet and sent him many metres across the room as the knight was being batted away along with his weapon. The warrior had strength equivalent to many Seifer's, prompting him to change tactics.

Charging forward to meet the warrior, he immediately ducked low as the spear swept past his head. However, Sakon was much faster than Seifer had expected. The bladed fin of the spear slammed downwards, missing his leg barely as Seifer quickly rolled out of harms way. The warrior poked his spear on the ground as Seifer rolled left and right evading the impaling strikes. Timing perfectly, his legs shot up and locked themselves firmly along the shaft of the spear as it missed him by whiskers. Pulling himself up immediately by using his legs anchored at the spear as a pivot, he cried triumphantly as Hyperion came down in an overhead cleave directly at Sakon's defenceless head.

Specks of tiny red dots appeared on Sakon's face, but it wasn't his blood.

Hyperion never touched the warrior who had jabbed Seifer in the gut with his left hand just before the gunblade crashed down. Blood gushed out from his mouth instantly as intense pain spread across his lower abdominal portion. His legs immediately felt weak and lost its grip against the shaft as Seifer was thrown many meters away in the direction of the blow.

Never before in his life had he experienced such a powerful punch, he was certain even Zell would have been impressed by the speed and strength of that blow. Seifer clutched his painful stomach as he got up slowly, but paid the price as a crashing right foot caught him across the jaw. Seifer tumbled across the floor like a ball but quickly forced himself up as the warrior came charging at him again.

The deadly spear lunged forward. Seifer raised his gunblade and flicked the spear away, sidestepping towards the warrior's undefended flank. He slashed against Sakon's arm, which suddenly shot up and grabbed his shirt at the chest. Bright red light flashed from his grip as a stabbing pain erupted across Seifer's chest. The knight was thrown away from Sakon by the magical blast; the front of his shirt was torn and shredded, revealing a badly burnt and bloodied chest.

Again, he evaded the crashing tip with a quick roll to the side. Still on the ground, his gunblade made a sweeping slash against Sakon's legs, hoping to score a lucky hit. However, he was far from lucky as the clashing of blades resounded. Sakon had quickly retracted his weapon to parry Seifer's attack. This was followed by a thunderous kick into Seifer's gut, which sent him skidding across the floor.

Seifer got up again much to the warrior's surprise, but the blood flowing from his mouth was evidence that he wasn't going to last for long. Sakon attacked with multiple thrusts and side-slashes that Seifer parried and ducked, waiting patiently for the warrior to offer an opening which he could take advantage of. He leapt backwards as Sakon came down with a splitting overhead cleave, the blade leaving a slight cut on his forehead.

This was the chance he was waiting for. Even while leaping backwards, his hand was already up, aiming a spell at Sakon. The Firaga spell erupted from his hand directly against the warrior. To his amazement the spell crashed into a purplish barrier that suddenly materialized in front of Sakon. Seifer didn't allow himself to be stunned for long as he quickly sent spell after spell against Sakon, who seemed to be amused at Seifer's efforts for every offensive spell he cast crashed and faded harmlessly against the warrior's magical barrier. Initially planning to use lightning quick spells to catch the warrior off-guard and allow him to injure Sakon thus swinging the battle to his favour, it appears that Seifer was back to square one again as his spells proved useless.

'Don't you understand that feeble spells such as the ones you are casting are useless against me?' Sakon said finally.

Seifer stopped. He was panting heavily after launching a total of 14 elemental spells against the warrior and all were rendered useless. 'What kind of monster are you. Why can't my spells affect you?'

'Of course you won't understand, your Guardian Forces do not provide you with their special abilities. You cannot possibly expect your meek junctions to provide you with the powers to harm me.' Sakon's eyes suddenly flashed bright red as a scarlet silhouette enclosed around him. 'Have a glimpse of real power. Feel the wrath of my Guardian Force, Tumbaras!'

A deafening roar boomed within the cave that closely resembled a tiger's growl. Sakon came dashing forth like a savage beast. With all his might, Seifer leapt over the warrior and whirled around, gunblade coming up together with a side-slash. But the slash never got far when a tremendous impact to Seifer's side sent him flying as Sakon retracted his weapon and slammed the butt of the spear into Seifer's ribs. The knight felt the crunching of bones, but ignored the pain and got up. The spear crashed down as Seifer raised Hyperion to parry, his feet sinking into the ground upon the powerful blow. The bladed end was suddenly lifted with great speed as Seifer's gunblade met no resistance, only to be clobbered by the chin as the butt of the spear swung from below. Seifer never had time to react to the warrior's sudden attack as his mouth was stained crimson again. Sakon's speed and strength were heightened to a higher level, one that Seifer knew he could never attain.

The blow was so powerful that Seifer's mind was in a complete blur. The spear danced in front of him as Seifer stumbled backwards, leaving deep cuts in his chest and stomach, but Seifer was too weak to prevent anything. The butt of the spear crashed against his jaw as Seifer was hurled across the floor. He never came to a complete stop as a foot was planted into his gut. Seifer found himself being kicked around like a ragged doll as the warriors foot swept against his gut numerous times. Finally, Sakon grabbed the bloodied knight by his collar and flung him hard against the stone wall, leaving cracks behind. The warrior followed up by throwing his spear like a javelin towards Seifer. Blood squirted out as the flying spear lunged deep into his shoulder, pierced through him and lodged itself firmly within stone. His feet were hanging a few feet above the ground as the warrior had him pinned to the wall. Seifer yelled in agony, but there was nothing he could do, his whole body ached throughout; the spear was stuck so firmly into the wall that Seifer doubted pulling it out, let alone in his current state being pinned by it. The spear had missed his heart, even its bladed fins were centimetres away from slicing his neck; Seifer knew the warrior wasn't going to kill him yet, however he recognized the fact that it was impossible for him to punish the warrior's overconfidence. There was not a single ounce of strength left in his battered body to continue fighting.

His cries of pained were silenced when a crashing fist slammed into his jaw and cracked bone. The next punch landed onto his nose, smashing it and leaving it flattened. The pounding continued as Seifer was brutally beaten by a monster with superhuman strength. Sakon wasn't planning to kill Seifer on the spot but to beat him to death; his punches were meant to cause maximum pain as the next blow to Seifer's chest cracked his ribs, sinking him further into the rock wall.

Sakon smiled as his next cross landed on Seifer's cheek, leaving it swollen and bloodied. As he suspected, the intruder was nothing more than a nuisance who was now his new punching bag. However he was impressed with Seifer's sudden magic offensive and his toughness. Had he not have Tumbaras protective shield, the intruder might have gained a fighting chance. Sakon's elbow slammed into soft flesh and bone as more cracks appeared in the wall.

The warrior continued his smashing good time as his fists pounded away.

* * *

Pain was overloading his senses; Seifer Almasy was on the verge of being beaten to death. His mind was completely blank as nothing else other than pain registered in it. Blood poured from his mouth endlessly as another crushing punch into his stomach rocked his internal organs violently. As Seifer waited for his body to slowly give way when his swollen eyes suddenly caught sight of Rinoa lying on the floor.

The reason for him being here registered within his mind immediately. He was here to rescue Rinoa, not allow himself be beaten to death by some oversized warrior. The words of Shinji just moments ago rang clearly in his mind.

'Remember, you are not alone.'

The goal of rescuing his friend gave rise to renewed vigour and fighting spirit within him. His body ached from top till toe but Seifer knew he could not give up. He thought about everyone; his instructor Quistis, his past romances with Rinoa, his bickering with Zell, how much he owed Squall. He thought about the times when he was at his lowest, when there was no one that he could turn to, yet there were still people who stood up for him and fought for him. This was a battle he had to win, for everyone's sake and most importantly, for his sake. He was always lucky enough to have someone drag him out of the oblivion. Now it was his chance to be someone else's knight in shining armour, the knight he had always dreamed of becoming.

A blinding flash of bluish-white light erupted from within Seifer, briefly illuminating the dimly lit cave. A powerful force knocked Sakon off his feet and threw him metres away from Seifer. The spear that pinned the knight to the wall violently shot out, landing near its owner. Sakon watched in bewilderment as Seifer hovered in mid-air for a moment before slowly floating to the ground. His eyes glowed eerily, as though being possessed.

His body was moved on its own, as his battered arm raised Hyperion up and baited Sakon to strike. Seifer could feel a powerful energy engulf him, flowing into his wounds, momentarily stopping the bleeding. It was this energy that was supporting his wounded body, propping him upwards like a puppet. It was a wonderful feeling as the pure essence washed over him, cleansing him of his agony and pain.

Before he could further bask in this wonderful sensation, Sakon charged forward like a raging bull. To Seifer's surprise, his body was already gliding out of harms way and had already positioned himself behind the warrior. Only then did Seifer realize his heightened senses. His body movements were fast enough to match Sakon's, but what intrigued him was the faint red line that traced out from the spear. It seemed to show the path of attack that was coming his way. He already knew exactly where the warrior was going to attack next as he ducked his head even before Sakon's spear slashed behind. He rolled forwards and leaped up to face the warrior, just in time to see Sakon's look of horror as Hyperion slashed across the warrior's chest.

A loud crash resounded as Hyperion ripped through the thick armour. And even louder noise reverberated through the cavern as a huge spear soon crashed onto a spot Seifer was standing just split seconds earlier. Hyperion slashed across the warrior's back to score a second hit, as Seifer leapt on top of Sakon even before the warrior turned around for a kick, only to find himself sweeping air. As Seifer registered his fourth successful hit across the warrior's arm, his vision suddenly turned red as his senses detected impending danger. Instinctively, his legs kicked off the ground with all the strength he could muster while ice crystals formed in his hand as huge swirls of reddish energy surrounded Sakon at the same moment.

* * *

Sakon could sense a powerful presence within Seifer; something that manifested right after the light erupted from him. From that moment onwards, Seifer fought like a different person. Not only were Seifer's moves as swift as his own, the eerie thing was his enemy seemed to be able to predict and read his every attack. His attacks were being dodged and sidestepped even before they were executed, as though his mind was being read.

Blood gushed out from his deep wounds as new ones were being made. His opponent resembled a pesky fly swirling around, taking pot shots at him. Annoyance and frustration hit its limit as Sakon called forth the Guardian Force within him.

'Annihilate my enemies Tumbaras! _Firedance_!'

At his command, streams of thick flames shot out of Sakon's palms. In a flash, the whole cavern was lit with dancing fire, whirling in graceful arcs and circles, burning everything in sight. Beams of red light soon sprouted from the warrior.

'The _Howl_.'

The beams intensified, drilling into stone and rocking the entire cavern. Stones toppled from the ceiling as the beams threatened to bring the whole place down. A dazzling display of lights followed as the rays flashed about, leaving their marks on stone and cleaving through anything in its path. As the chaos died down, Sakon looked about to admire his handiwork. Thick smoke filled the cavern after being cooked by fire while rubble littered the floor. He was exhausted after the massive use of magic, but all satisfaction fasded when his foe still remained standing in front of him.

* * *

Seifer still could not believe how he survived that onslaught. He cast Blizzaga spells at directions where flames would appear just moments later, the ice impeding the flames advance, allowing Seifer to dodge just in the nick of time. The rays had him sidestep and cartwheel about like a clown, with the beams just whiskers away from piercing his vitals. All the time he was in a trance-like state, his body acting on its own accord, dodging naturally and evading attacks that were yet to come.

However, all the dodging seemed to have drained him significantly. He could feel the essence within him slowly ebbing away. He had to defeat Sakon soon before he loses the chance. As though answering his prayers, Shinji suddenly appeared in front of him. The boy stood in a battle stance back facing Seifer, with Hyperion clasped in his hands. Seifer was lost for words seeing his gunblade in Shinji's hands when just moments ago he was still holding it!

'Time is running out, we only have one chance at defeating Sakon. Hold my hands and channel all your power into your weapon.' The boy was right; he only had one shot at victory. Doing as told, he grabbed the boy's hands. Shinji vanished again like a ghostly apparition and Seifer was left holding Hyperion. He was certain Sakon had no idea that he was talking to Shinji. He concentrated in focusing every drop of power into his gunblade, and prepared to deliver the final blow. Seifer sensed a great outburst of energy coming from Hyperion, engulfing him in the process. His surroundings blurred beyond recognition and suddenly it was all over.

In a blink of an eye, he had covered the distance between them, with Hyperion stuck in his foe. Sakon had a look of equal shock as he stared at the gunblade sticking out of his chest. With all his might, Seifer pulled out the gunblade, a torrent of crimson blood soon followed, pouring out of the large gaping wound.

'I'm better than you. You didn't win. I'll come back for youuu…' Sakon never finished his sentence as he collapsed to the ground.


End file.
